The Falsebound Kingdom
by bijoukaiba
Summary: It was only supposed to be a test run of a new virtual reality game, "Kingdom". However, Kaiba had no idea that this 'game' would end up changing the lives of him and those around him. Based on Kaiba's storyline in the video game, with a few added twists.
1. The Tale Begins! Enter Virtual Reality!

_Those who claim to control the gods are in fact controlled by the gods. - Alexander Irvine, Philosopher_

**Chapter 1: The Tale Begins! Enter Virtual Reality!**

It seemed like just an ordinary day at the Tokyo International Airport. The escalators were packed as Japanese citizens either returned home from an international adventure, or as some were preparing to start their journeys, particularly to the "fascinating" land known as America.

For a group of six teenagers, they were about to depart on an American journey that would never be forgotten. They finally spotted a digital arrival-departure board and started checking for their flight.

One of them, a blond teenager with brown eyes, scanned through the flights until he finally spotted the one he and his friends were searching for.

"There it is! Domino Airport- it sounds just like the lab mentioned in that letter you got."

Jounouchi turned to the slightly younger, yet far shorter, friend beside him. He was dressed in his school uniform- a blue jacket with a white undershirt and blue pants- but also wore what appeared to be a small, golden pyramid on a rope necklace. What stood out about him was his hair- blond bangs that rested on his hairline, and black, spiky hair with a red-magenta outline. His bright purple eyes caught sight of the flight Jounouchi had pointed out.

"SIC Domino Labs. I think you're right, this looks like the flight."

Honda folded his arms as he took note of the arrival-departure board. "It must not be a very big lab. Domino sounds like a small city, so there's probably nothing else there."

Anzu, one of the two girls in the group, paged through the brochure they had received, pointing to a building on the SIC flyer.

"Doesn't the building look futuristic? SIC is a famous overseas game company, isn't it?"

Her classmate, Bakura, nodded.

"Yes, and no. It's a new, American-run game company that started here in Japan, but it's already become a major player. They have a research lab over in America, and that's the one we've been invited to, I believe." Anzu nodded, and Bakura continued. "Although it's relatively new, it's gotten pretty big by releasing a bunch of innovative games. They've been using 3D images and virtual reality research to create some amazingly life-like environments."

"It sounds a lot like what Kaiba's company does," Jounouchi commented, although his tone suddenly turned sour when he mentioned Kaiba's name. Yugi grinned awkwardly and pulled out his folded invitation from a pocket on his jacket.

"Let's see... according to this invitation, they're doing exactly the same kind of work as Kaiba Corporation." Yugi began to read directly from the invitation. " 'SIC has incorporated cutting-edge technologies to develop next generation virtual reality technology. SIC hopes to work in the field of games to perfect this technology using the wildly popular Duel Monsters. SIC plans to further develop the technology through gameplay.' "

He glanced up at his friends, his familiar, excited smile on his face.

"Their technological goals may be scientific, but if they're using Duel Monsters, I want to get a look at it!"

"Me too," Anzu agreed. "This is so exciting! But why did they let us come?"

Yugi explained further, "I think they sent invitations to everyone who ranked well at the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City tournaments."

Once again, he started to read from the invitation.

" 'In order to test the new Duel Simulator, "Kingdom", SIC is sponsoring a test trial. And respectfully ask for your assistance in helping us make "Kingdom" the best game it can be.' " Yugi winked at his friends. "It also says to bring friends if you want. Naturally, I thought of you guys right away!"

"That's very kind of you," Shizuka replied. She had pretty auburn hair that fell to her waist and soft gray eyes with a spark of green. Her voice was very soft and melodic. "... but, I'm not very good at playing Duel Monsters..."

"It's no problem, sis," Jounouchi reassured, wrapping a loving arm around his younger sister's shoulders. "I can give you some of my advice while we're on the plane! Just so we're all clear, I'm here because I did so well in the tournaments."

"Oh yeah?" Honda asked in a skeptical tone, raising an eyebrow. "Then where's _your_ invitation?"

Jounouchi released his sister and frowned, placing his hands on his hips. "They must have sent it to the wrong address!"

"Yeah, sure." Honda replied sarcastically. "At least we know that Yugi is here as a finalist."

"That's it!" Jounouchi snarled, holding up a fist. "Come on, Honda! I'll take you, right here and now!"

Honda held up his fists and glared at Jounouchi, until Anzu stepped between them and pushed them each apart with one arm. "Stop it, both of you! This is no time to fight! Look, the plane's already arrived. Let's get going."

The six friends gathered up their carry-on luggage and made their way onto the plane. It appeared to be a fairly private flight, although Yugi recognized the familiar duelists Kajiki- known for his love of the ocean- and Esper Roba, the "psychic" machine duelist.

_So, Aibou, where are we off to today? _Asked a voice within Yugi's mind.

"_Well, mou hitori no boku, we're going to take part in a virtual reality game. It sounds different from the card game version of Duel Monsters that we're so used to playing. I think we might actually have to do some of the work, not just the monsters!"_

The voice in his mind could be heard chuckling. _Perhaps. Do you know what roles we'll have to play?_

_"I'm not sure, but I guess that we'll find out once we get into the game. Wouldn't it be something if you wound up as the hero of the game?"_

_That would be interesting... but let's just wait and see how this game works before we decide who the 'hero' will be._

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

"I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this..."

He was a handsome teenager, approximately the age of seventeen. He had a slender and tall build, and he was dressed in black leather with badass belt straps on his arms and legs. He wore a white sleeveless leather jacket over his black leather attire, and had a card-locket, with a picture of his younger brother inside, draped around his neck. He had smooth, chestnut brown hair, with bangs that rested just above his eyes - icy blue eyes that froze enemies. Nothing- no emotion- could be detected from them.

"But Seto, you never have bad feelings about anything!" his younger brother said. He had messy black hair that fell past his shoulders and had gray eyes that still held childhood innocence and youthful bliss.

"We've been trapped twice in virtual reality, and here we are- about to take a trip over to America to test out ANOTHER virtual reality program."

"Yeah, but BOTH times we were trapped, it was here in Japan, where people actually knew us and had reasons to take us out. We're going to America, where nobody TRULY knows us like the Big Five and Noa did, so nobody has a reason to try and kill us!" Mokuba reasoned.

"I guess you have a point."

"Told you so," Mokuba teased. "The heat's just getting to you. Come on! I've packed the Blue-Eyes Jet with our suitcases, and we'll have air-conditioning and packaged peanuts!"

He grabbed his brother's hand and tugged him over to their private aircraft. Seto took the pilot's seat, while his younger brother sat behind him with the luggage.

"We've got a fourteen-hour flight ahead of us, including one stop. You're sure you're ready?" Seto asked.

"Yep," Mokuba replied. "Plus we could always stop in Hawaii."

Seto started the engine, drove down the runway, and gradually made his ascent into the sky. After flying manually at a set height for half an hour, he logged coordinates for a stop in Hawaii, and then set the plane to autopilot. He gazed down at the Pacific Ocean below him. When taken from such a distance, it could only be seen as ordinary sea water; but with coral reefs and the Mariana Trench below the surface, nobody could see how deep and incredible it really was.

Seto read through the invitation for a second time, but it was this time he noticed that it was addressed to "the President of Kaiba Corporation" rather than "Seto Kaiba".

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

After the Kaiba brothers made a brief pitstop in Hawaii, they flew through the night, sleeping in the plane on autopilot, until the sun came up as they reached the "1-hour until arrival" mark.

They made their landing at a public airport, where they had requested a private hangar to keep their jet. A representative of the company was there to greet them, introducing himself as the temporary chauffeur and escort for the young gentlemen en route to the SIC facilities.

At last, the limo pulled to a halt, and Seto paid the driver before he drove off. Seto stared at the futuristic building, shining in the sun in its next-generation glory.

"This is the SIC research facility? What a cheap-looking building."

"And it took forever to get here!" Mokuba complained, walking over to his brother.

"I know. If this didn't have something to do with Duel Monsters, I would have turned them down right away."

Mokuba glanced up at his older brother.

"SIC does the same kind of work as our company, but it's an American company, right?"

"Right." Seto replied. "Their involvement in Duel Monsters is not something they advertise. But the company is world-renowned overseas for its incredibly realistic imaging and virtual reality technology. It's not really a game company. It's more like a scientific center for imaging technology research."

"But their technology may be able to help improve the Duel Disk?" Mokuba asked, winking at his brother.

Set smirked.

"That's the impression I got. The invitation says they want to show me a new product and discuss a joint venture. It sounds like they're ready to test their prototype. Let's just see what they have to show us. We can figure out what we want to do after that."

At that moment, a representative from SIC walked over to them.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Kaiba. My entire staff and I would like to welcome you."

"Isono?" Mokuba gasped, recognizing the man.

"Hmph." Seto folded his arms. "I didn't expect to run into you here. So this is where you've been working since you left KaibaCorp."

Isono's eyes fell to the ground. "I did enjoy working for you, Mr. Kaiba."

"Whatever relationship we had ended when you left KaibaCorp. I don't care what you do with your life. All right, let's get this over with. What is it you want to show me?"

Isono straightened his posture, as if he was still an employee to the guest before him.

"It's right inside, sir. If you'll just follow me..."

He lead Seto into the building, where ceramic teal tiles ran across the floor, and the walls were made of solid, green marble. He wandered past a few employees, including a few female ones who stared after Kaiba as he walked past, or grinned at his adorable little brother.

At last, Isono lead them into the testing room, where there were many pod-like devices scattered across the room. A large shell covered each one, but they appeared to be chairs where a person sat to enter the virtual program. On the second floor, several scientists stared down at the Kaiba brothers, particularly Seto. Their faces were emotionless, and they wore large goggles that shielded their eyes. Isono turned his gaze upward towards them.

"We've asked the president of Kaiba Corporation here today so that he can evaluate SIC's latest invention. All of us here at SIC are very excited about today's test. We're looking forward to collaborating with Kaiba Corporation on game technology development."

"Hmph. Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" Seto asked, interrupting Isono. He turned around in surprise and faced his former boss. "You need investment capital to sell your technology. You want to use Duel Monsters to help you sell it because you need a product tie-in, right?"

"... ... ... ..." Isono was silent.

"And you figured you could use me since I've invested so much money in Duel Monsters already." Seto glared at him. "Well?"

"... ... ... ..." Once again, Isono was at a lack of words.

"Your silence speaks volumes." Seto replied. "As it turns out, I need some new tech anyway, so I might as well take a look."

Isono walked into a small office underneath the stairway to the second floor, then emerged carrying two devices that looked exactly the Duel Disks used in the Battle City tournament. He placed one into Mokuba's hands, and one into Seto's.

"Is this it?" Mokuba asked, slipping it onto his arm.

"Yes." Isono replied proudly. "This is SIC's latest simulator. Code name: "Kingdom"."

"Just what are you trying to pull?" Seto asked accusingly, putting his device onto his arm. "It looks just like our Duel Disk!"

"This is just a prototype." Isono explained. "We're only using the Duel Disk for packaging reasons. It's all original SIC hardware on the inside."

"How is it different from the Duel Disk?" Seto asked, still skeptical.

"For starters, "Kingdom" is not set up to use cards. The disk is just a terminal to the Duel Monsters world which is created by the SIC super computer. By allowing players to enter the world, the game can support multiple players at the same time. The world has already been constructed. We'd just like you to play the game as you normally would."

"It sounds like a network game or something." Mokuba commented.

"I see. It certainly sounds different from the Duel Monsters we know today." Seto stated.

" "Kingdom" is a fantasy world. The card monsters there are _alive_." Isono couldn't help but smile briefly when he noticed Seto suddenly appeared interested in hearing more. "The empire that rules that world is currently dealing with a population on the brink of revolt. The two of you will join that world and try to complete the game. Of course, you'll both participate in the game as different game characters. The game is currently set for a few hours and we'll be recording your play data from here."

"It sounds fun!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Let's play!"

"Okay..." Seto agreed hesitantly. He went and sat down in one of the pod-chairs, next to the one his younger brother was in. There was a slot on the side of the pod's wall to place his Duel Disk-clad arm into. Doing so, he noticed the walls and ceiling suddenly lit up with electrical currents, then his surroundings faded to black and he lost sensation of everything around him except for his own thoughts.

_Something about this doesn't feel right. Isono is up to something... It's no coincidence one of my former employees is involved. After all, he headed up development of the Duel Disk and the Duel Computer._

His surroundings suddenly began to brighten.

_SIC... that has to stand for something, but what?_

The virtual reality program was almost done loading.

_Wasn't that other guy's name..._

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Isono had finally put the game into running, but he didn't appear too happy about launching the program.

"The program is running?" asked one of the scientists.

"Yes, sir..." Isono replied in a solemn tone.

"Well done," praised another one. "Now keep an eye on things, hm? We don't want anything to 'go wrong', now do we?"

Isono glanced down at the ground.

"Of course not."

Hidden by his sunglasses, his eyes burned with defiance and regret.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

_**Year 336 of the Sygh-Varths Empire.**_

_**After 300 years of ruling the Rondeval continent, the Sygh-Varths Empire is faced with a crisis.**_

_**Since the 12th Emperor, Haysheen, ascended to the throne, corruption and brutality have spread through the Empire. The people feel suppressed, but their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.**_

_**Haysheen and a select group of his underlings have been living in the lap of luxury. Their lavish lifestyle, supported by heavy taxation, has pushed most of the populace to the brink. People on the fringes of the Empire have responded with rebellion and revolt.**_

_**And at the capital city of Sygh-Varths...**_

**ZAP.**

_... trouble? _Kaiba wondered, noting some of the more technological sounds around him in the foreign atmosphere.

_**KINGDOM SIMULATOR OVERLOAD**_

_**SAFETY LOCK ENGAGED. BEGINNING TRANSITION TO MODE-2.**_

_**... TRANSITION TO MODE-2 COMPLETE**_

_**KINGDOM SIMULATOR LOCK-IN MODE ACTIVATED**_

"What the...?" Kaiba questioned out loud. Suddenly, he felt hard blows to his head, chest, and stomach.

"UGH!"

With a painful grunt following the blows, Kaiba found his world fade out into darkness.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

"... ba..."

Kaiba picked up a very faint sound in the corner of his mind.

"... ... Kaiba..."

Someone was calling his name.

"... wrong?... Kaiba..."

He sensed cold rock underneath his cheek and his vision slowly returned. Kaiba's consciousness had returned.

"Kaiba! What's wrong? Please look at me!"

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated and encouraged!**


	2. Hand of Fire

**bijoukaiba: I just thought I would make a little note that I didn't really explain the English and Japanese names... not everyone has seen the subbed Yuugiou.**

**Jounouchi Katsuya - Joey Wheeler  
(Kawai) Shizuka - Serenity Wheeler  
Honda Hiroto - Tristan Taylor  
Mazaki Anzu - Tea Gardner  
Isono - Roland (Kaiba's assistant guy)**

_Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. - Sir Winston Churchill_

**Chapter 2: Hand of Fire**

The stone steps were hardly comfortable against Shizuka's back, and she rolled onto her side in pain. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and she found herself facing the entrance of a palace, with stone pillars lining the sides of the walkway.

"Where am I?" she asked softly, sitting up carefully. She had a bit of a headache, possibly from the traumatic entrance she and her friends had gone through to get into the game, and plus there was the error that had popped up as the story was being explained.

"Big brother!" she gasped. "Honda? Yuugi?" she glanced all around her, her eyes searching for a familiar face- but aside from a few people staring at her from the streets, there was no one else around.

"Maybe someone inside this palace can help me!" Shizuka concluded, and she ran to the entrance. She found the circular handles to the door and wrapped her fingers around them. She opened it slowly, and entered the door cautiously. She had only taken a few steps inside the main hallway, lit by sunlight streaming through the large glass windows that lined the hall, when she was suddenly grabbed by two soldiers, each one holding onto one of her arms.

"What business does a mouse like you have here?" asked one of the soldiers. He had a golden mask on over his eyes and wore a striped blue headdress.

"She wears such strange clothing... are you with the peasants that keep protesting the taxes?" asked the other officer, tightening his grip on her arm. He also wore a golden mask over his eyes, but he did not have a headdress. Instead, he had a red headband through his black hair that was cut above his shoulders.

"No, please, don't hurt me!" Shizuka begged. "Please, I only wanted to find my brother! We're supposed to be playing this game together!"

"Game?" asked the officer. He laughed at her. "Little mouse, this isn't a game!"

She had to recall that as game characters, they thought that_ this_, the game universe, was indeed the real world.

"... I'm sorry! Just- please!- let go of me! I'm just trying to find him!"

"I think she's a crazy one," remarked the soldier. He grinned. "I know who'd want to see her..."

"Marthis always figures out the best ways to get rid of crazy ones like this girl..." the officer commented. They both strengthened their hold on Shizuka's arms, and dragged her- now with terrified tears falling down her face- down the halls of the palace.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

"Kaiba! What's wrong? Please look at me!"

Seto had finally reawakened, and he was no longer sitting in a chair in a labratory for virtual technology. He was lying sprawled out on a cold stone floor, his cheek resting against one of the stone blocks that composed the floor. The room appeared golden, bathed by sunlight that shone in through dark yellow stained-glass windows. Tapestries of purple and gold hung from the ceiling, but they could not darken the glorious light. Complimenting the colors of the tapestries, a man- clearly in the later stages of life- was sitting upon a marble throne clothed in purple silk, and beside him stood a figure clad in golden armor with a white mask over his face.

Seto groaned, pulling himself off the ground, but his muscles felt numb. Once he had gotten to his knees, a wave of pain swept through him from his feet to his head.

"Oh... my head..." Seto placed a hand to his temples, flinching from the aftershock of the painful wave that had throbbed through him.

"What's wrong?" asked the purple-clad figure. His voice could be compared to that of a frog's croak. "You just collapsed all of a sudden."

Seto glanced around the room, ignoring the old man's statement. None of this looked familiar at all. "Where... where am I?"

"Where are your manners, Kaiba?" asked a new voice that caught Seto's attention. The golden character was talking to him. "You stand before the Emperor, Haysheen Sygh-Varths. This is the capital city of Sygh-Varths and we are in the Imperial palace. We were in a meeting with his Highness before you passed out. Don't you remember?"

Seto shook his head, regretting it once he felt the throbbing pain sweep through him yet again. "No, I don't. I don't remember anything."

"Pull yourself together, man!" Haysheen demanded. "I expect more from the head of my Imperial Guard and my best warrior!"

He sighed and exchanged a glance with the figure clad in golden armor. "Let's go over the plan again for Kaiba's sake." He glared down at Seto. "Listen well, if you know what's good for you."

Seto returned the glare with a scowl. He was clearly starting to return to normal.

"We've gotten reports of a fairly large revolt taking place on the Maryah-Denn Plains in the North. There are several marshals assisting the resistance army there. We must capture them. None of my other generals seem up to the task, so Kaiba, I want you to hunt them down." He held up a fist as a sign of vigor. "Take the Imperial Guard and strike the fear of the Empire into them!"

He paused, waiting for a response from Kaiba, but the duelist continued to watch the Emperor silently.

"... ... Well? Don't you have something to say?"

"I believe Lord Kaiba is still not quite himself," the man wearing gold armor suggested. "Perhaps he is suffering fatigue from his strenuous activities? Your Highness, Lord Kaiba's present condition makes me a little anxious about leaving this entirely in his hands. With your permission, I would like to accompany him and offer my support." He made a sweeping bow with a golden-colored cape that was attached to his golden armor.

"I understand, Marthis. Permission granted." Haysheen replied, nodding. He turned to the Imperial General. "I trust you do not have a problem with this, Kaiba?"

Seto had been a bit lost in their conversation- after all, listening to long words is difficult when one has a splitting headache- so he merely replied, "... Uh, sure."

"You're right, Kaiba is acting strangely." Haysheen mumbled to Marthis.

"Must've hit his head harder than we thought..." Marthis muttered in agreement, a smile tugging at his lips underneath his mask.

"Do not let me down, Marthis!" Haysheen declared.

"Yes sir!"

BAM.

The doors slammed open, and two guards marched in carrying a tearful girl between them.

"Lord Marthis! Look at what we got!"

They shoved her to the ground, next to Kaiba.

"I see you've already gotten another prisoner, eh?" asked the officer, gesturing at Kaiba.

"He is not a prisoner. In fact, he is one of the marshals of the Imperial Guard," Marthis replied.

Shizuka glanced up at the young man beside her, recognizing the familiar white trenchcoat and black leather clothes.

"Kaiba!" she gasped. So this was the Seto Kaiba that her brother always complained about- the "cold-hearted, selfish, egotistical jerk". Seto glanced over at her. She was one of Yuugi's friends - and therefore a real human being - but the question was, where had he seen her before?

"As for the girl," Marthis pondered her fate for a moment, before shrugging nonchalantly. "We can behead her tomorrow."

"What?" Shizuka gasped. "I just went into this palace to try and find my brother!"

She had a brother! She definitely seemed familiar! He remembered she had a brother, but which one of Yuugi's friends had a sister?

"Okay, but what are we supposed to do with her until then?" asked the soldier.

Marthis waved his hand, as if to shoo away the guards and their female prisoner. "Oh, I don't know. Whatever you and the other soldiers want to do with her, I suppose."

Shizuka's eyes widened in horror. "No! _No!_ Please, anything but that!" she cried.

The two soldiers grinned lasciviously, grabbing hold of her arms again.

"What's the matter? We've got about fifty friends that would like to meet you," cackled the soldier.

"It's really all that women are good for anyway," muttered the officer. "So start acting like one and stop whining like a dog!"

"Stop!" Seto shouted, his memory renewed.

The two soldiers, Marthis, Haysheen, and Shizuka stared at him.

"What, do you want to have a go at her first?" asked the officer.

"No," Seto replied. His cheeks were tinged with a hint of scarlet embarrassment, but he was clearly offended. "But I know who her brother is. She's telling the truth."

"Is he here somewhere?" Marthis asked.

"I have no idea," Seto replied. "But she's not a criminal. There's no need to execute her."

"Who is her brother?" the officer asked.

"Bon- ... Jounouchi." Tempting as it was, Seto had to refrain himself from referring to the blond as 'bonkotsu' like he always had.

"Fine," Marthis replied. "We'll spare her. But for trespassing onto the palace grounds, she shall stay in the dungeon tonight!"

Shizuka looked over at the teenage CEO. If he was apparently so cold-hearted... why had he asked for her life to be spared? His icy blue eyes met her soft gray ones briefly, then he looked away.

"But... why?" was all she could ask as she was dragged away. The door slammed behind them.

"... You're welcome to leave now too, if you'd like." Haysheen stated.

Seto realized he had been sitting on the floor all this time. He carefully got to his feet, his balance coming back to him.

"Where exactly am I going to be staying?"

Marthis pointed to the door.

"Exit, make a left, fourth door on the left."

Seto left and followed the directions he was given. He entered his room which had a large bed with a canopy and a table with two chairs. Much to Seto's relief, he found the one person he wanted to see sitting at the table, reading through a book.

"Seto!" Mokuba ran over and hugged his older brother around the stomach.

"Mokuba! You're here too?" his brother asked, placing his hands on Mokuba's shoulders in a comforting gesture.

"Yes," Mokuba replied, letting go of his older brother. "It looks like I'm a member of the Imperial Guard and I report directly to you."

Seto nodded.

"This place is unbelievable!" Mokuba exclaimed, stretching out his arms. "For a virtual reality program, it sure is realistic."

Seto stepped over to a marble pillar that was set in the wall. He ran his hand over it, feeling the cool sensation of the rock underneath as well as any small indents or bumps made in the pillar.

"It's a bit too realistic. I don't get the feeling that we're in control of the game at all. I think it's safe to say that we've been trapped in this world." he glanced over at Mokuba, as if to say 'I told you so'.

Mokuba pouted and folded his arms.

"That was probably the plan all along," Seto concluded. He squeezed his hands into tight fists, as if he had choked the last breath out of someone's neck. "Hmph! Just wait until I get my hands on that wretch Isono..."

Mokuba decided to quell his brother's anger by changing the subject. "While you were at your meeting, I did some research! In this world, Duel Monster duelists are called marshals."

_... there are several marshals assisting the resistance army there._ Seto recalled the Emperor complaining about the revolts.

"Hmmm... Haysheen used that word in my meeting with him."

"Marshals are like generals and are the central player of each battle in this world. Marshals have a special power over monsters, so instead of soldiers, they command teams of monsters. Since each monster can do the damage of many human soldiers, the fate of the battle is decided by the marshals. Marshals are also extremely rare. We're the only two in the Imperial Guard." Mokuba explained. "Each marshal can control a team with up to three monsters. Each team has one monster leader, and the speed of the team is determined by that of the leader."

"I see," Seto replied. "I guess we'll figure out the rest as we fight."

Mokuba sighed and plopped down on the bed. "How did this happen to us?"

Seto started to pace around the room. "I don't know, but it looks like we're stuck playing the roles we've been assigned." He paused and lifted his head, a thought coming to mind. "Isono did say it was a game, so maybe if we play the game all the way to the end, we'll find a way to get out."

"That's right!" Mokuba cheered. "Every game has got to have an ending!"

"Well, I'm not completely sure," Kaiba warned, "but playing this game out seems to be our only option right now."

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

The rest of the day passed with Seto and Mokuba studying further about becoming marshals, while Marthis sent out a team to gather monsters for the marshals to use. It felt a bit awkward, spending their first night there in a virtual world foreign to them - especially considering they were consuming virtual food for dinner - but then again, it wasn't as bad as having to spend the night outside or in a jail cell.

On that note, Shizuka had a horrible night in the dungeon - it reeked of death and urine, and as a prisoner, she was offered no food and a pile of itchy hay as a makeshift mattress. Feeling lost and hopeless without her brother and friends, she cried herself to sleep that night.

The following morning, a guard came down to release her from the dungeon. She never thought she would feel so relieved to see someone so vicious. That sentiment quickly changed, however, when he brutishly gripped her arm and dragged her out to the palace doors.

"Now get out of here," the soldier told her, opening one of the doors and nodding outside.

"I would, but I have nowhere to go!" she replied. "The only person I know around here is Kaiba!"

"Kaiba, huh?" asked the soldier.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Seto and Mokuba had just stepped out of their room that morning when the girl from yesterday was pushed into Seto's arms. He didn't try to catch her, but Shizuka caught hold of him so she was able to keep steady, her legs a little weak after having nothing to eat ever since arriving in the virtual world.

"What's the meaning of this?" Kaiba asked the prison-keeper.

"Considering that you asked for her to be spared, you seem the only one around here who knows her. And she even said so herself that you're the only person she actually knows around here. Therefore, she's _your _responsibility, not mine." The guard reasoned, walking off to return to prison duty before the young CEO could reply.

Seto pulled Shizuka off of him. "You're more trouble than you're worth."

"I'm sorry," Shizuka apologized, glancing at the ground. "But- I wanted to thank you for yesterday- for saving my life."

Seto acted as though she hadn't said anything, heading to the Emperor's throne room to speak with Marthis.

"Aren't you one of Yuugi's friends?" asked the younger Kaiba brother.

"Yes!" Shizuka exclaimed, surprised that someone finally recognized her. "Do you know Jounouchi Katsuya? He's my older brother."

"Yeah, I know him... he seems like an okay guy. Seto doesn't like to hear me talk about it, but I'm friends with Yugi and your brother. On the other hand, my big brother's not too fond of Yugi and his circle of friends." He glanced down the hallway. "Whoa, I gotta go to the meeting!"

Clueless as to what she should do, Shizuka followed the younger Kaiba brother.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Marthis glanced up from the map on the table as Seto entered the room.

"Ah, you're here... good."

At that moment, Mokuba came running through the doors and a confused Shizuka walked in behind him.

"We're... here!" Mokuba panted, giving a 'thumbs up' to Marthis.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Marthis asked, glaring at Shizuka.

"She's coming with us," Seto stated in a dark tone, clearly displeased with the circumstances. "Just tell me what we're doing."

Marthis cleared his throat.

"Since you're not quite well yet, allow me to explain our strategy. This is a map of the Empire on the Rondeval continent." He waved his hand over the parchment piece on the table. "And here are the Maryah-Denn Plains." He pointed out a fairly large area on the map. "This is where they are revolting. The Maryah-Denn revolt is quite large, but our Imperial Guard should be able to quell it easily. The Emperor's orders are to wipe out the resistance forces completely so that they never think of revolting again."

"This is your chance to prove yourself in something other than drills, Kaiba!" Marthis taunted, folding his arms.

Seto scowled at the Emperor's advisor.

"Keep your opinions to yourself. Now continue."

"Since you're not feeling 100% right now, remember to be careful when assembling your teams. We can have up to three teams since you, Mokuba, and I are all marshals. The enemy is supposed to have several marshals as well, but they'll be no match for us!"

It was Seto's turn to throw a taunt.

"As long as _you_ don't drop the ball."

Marthis glared at him, seething silently from the insult, then finished his explanation.

"... Go ahead and assemble your teams. A man as skilled as yourself will create some exceptional teams, I'm sure."

They stepped outside to a large barn, where there were monsters inside waiting for them.

"So, only you, Mokuba, and I are marshals?" Seto asked Marthis, who nodded in reply. "Then what about the girl? She has a Duel Disk on her arm."

Shizuka glanced down at the Duel Disk that was latched over her right arm.

"Well, I..."

"Judging by the way she's responding, she's not very good." Marthis stated before the girl could say anything. "Besides, there's only nine monsters here, and I'm sure you'd rather have us all have teams of three rather than have teams with weaker numbers."

Seto stepped up to a blue-skinned giant that had only one eye, like a cyclops. He recognized it as Hitotsu-Me Giant.

"Are you interested in that one?" Marthis asked. He pointed to the Duel Disk he had on his arm. "These tools- 'Duel Disks', I believe you called them- function to give out information on the monsters- their Life Points, their attack strength, their defensive power, and much more! You can also use them to gain information about your allied marshals or your enemies, and they can even be used as communicators."

He pressed down on a button on top of his Duel Disk and spoke into it. "See what I mean?" His voice came out clearly on a speaker on Seto's Duel Disk.

"Depending on who you've selected to gain info on is who you can speak to. Now, if I change my info setting to Mokuba..." he turned the button; apparently, it also functioned as a dial. He spoke into the disk again. "Now my voice can be heard on Mokuba's contraption. Aren't these devices amazing?"

_Well, I would know. I designed them_. A smirk tugged at the corner of Seto's lips.

He walked past each stall that held a monster; past Zarigun, past Dark King of the Abyss, past Crawling Dragon... until he made his way back around to Hitotsu-Me Giant.

"I'm going to be taking Crawling Dragon, Armored Lizard, and Water Girl with me. Mokuba, you get to pick next."

Mokuba jumped up in joy and circled around the monsters, sometimes checking their stats a few more times.

"Aw, Seto! You had to take the best ones!" Mokuba huffed. "But still, I like Three-Headed Geedo, Hitotsu-Me Giant, and Dark King of the Abyss."

"And that leaves Marthis with Saggi, Zarigun, and Dark Plant." Seto concluded.

"The clown, the lobster, and the evil flower." Mokuba said, trying to stifle a few snickers.

"These monsters are so pitiful!" Marthis whined. "How am I supposed to fight with these?"

"Who ever said you were going to fight at all?" Seto retorted.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

After a day of traveling- it was much quicker to travel thanks to the fact that they could ride on the monsters' backs - Seto, Marthis, Mokuba, and Shizuka finally came to their destination at about eight in the morning.

"We've arrived at the Maryah-Denn Plains. The enemy is hiding in the town of Riz-Phonn. They will not come out to meet us." Marthis explained. He then pointed to a small city on the horizon to the left of a vast forest, and then to a small village with a large windmill to the right of the forest. "Why don't we give them a little demonstration by attacking the nearest village?"

Mokuba and Shizuka listened intently, whereas Seto watched him from the corner of his eye, clearly uninterested. "We take gold and supplies from towns and cities that aid the resistance and defy the Emperor." Marthis grinned and rubbed his fingers together as though he was shuffling a piece of paper money between his fingers. "What better way to stuff the imperial purse than by taking a rebel town, eh?"

Marthis _continued_ to state the obvious by gesturing to the deserted city around them. "Currently all of our teams are holding position in Maryah-Denn. Let's select a team to send out to one of the nearby villages."

"Hmph." Seto grumbled, relieved to hear Marthis stop talking. "Shall we get started?"

Marthis folded his arms.

"Very well then."

"Mokuba, I want you to investigate the forest. Check for any spies, then head straight to the city on the left." Seto ordered.

"That would be Seirauna," Marthis corrected, earning a glare from Kaiba.

Mokuba grinned in approval and ran outside, beckoning to his team of monsters to follow him. They walked past the dirt road, past the grassy field, and finally entered the forest. Five minutes after combing through the forest, a whooshing sound and a roar filled the air. The monsters accompanying the younger Kaiba sibling appeared agitated, itching for battle.

"Whoa! We're being attacked by roaming monsters!" Mokuba gasped. "... ... Cool!"

He identified his opponent- a Darklands creature- as Berfomet.

"All right then!" Mokuba shouted vigorously, remembering what he had learned yesterday about being a marshal. "Three-Headed Geedo! Dark King of the Abyss! Hitotsu-Me Giant! SUMMON!"

His three monsters leapt in front of him, poised for battle.

Berfomet got the first move. It swept forward to attack with Plains Dash, slashing at Three-Headed Geedo's body.

"My turn!" Mokuba declared. "Hitotsu-Me Giant, attack with Sledge Hammer!"

The blue cyclops leapt forward, clasping its hands together like one big fist, then slammed its hands down over the head of Berfomet.

"Now, Dark King of the Abyss! Use Inferno Trial!" The bony, wicked ruler held up his clawed hand, summoning a green aura around his hand, then fired the concentrated energy at Berfomet.

"And Three-Headed Geedo, use Razzle Dazzle!" The mysterious creature lifted its hands and slowly shifted them up and down. A magenta orb of energy surrounded Berfomet's body, then electrified it with powerful magic.

Now his opponent took its turn to attack Three-Headed Geedo yet again. Mokuba was starting to become concerned about his monster's Life Points, but he refused to give up!

"Sledge Hammer! Inferno Trial!"

_There's no way we can defeat this guy outright. _Mokuba sighed in disappointment. _But maybe we can win by advantage points!_

"Use Razzle Dazzle!"

The Darklands monster took up the Guard position to use up its final action point. Seeing that the battle was over, Mokuba peeked cautiously at his Duel Disk to see what the final score was in terms of advantage points. The furry fiendish monster had been defeated by a score of 1245 to 759. Berfomet swept forwards toward the younger boy. At first, Mokuba was alarmed, until it crouched in a sitting position before him.

"You're crouching in front of me..." Mokuba pondered. "... like you don't want to fight anymore."

The monster nodded.

"You can understand me?"

More nodding.

"Would you like to join our army? Our base is back that way!"

Without any more nodding, Berfomet sprung into the air, spread its wings, and flew back to Maryah-Denn.

Mokuba turned on his communicator. "Hey, Seto! Are you there?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"There's a new recruit heading your way- in the form of a monster!"

"You beat it? Good job. Now go head for Seirauna."

A click at the other end indicated that Seto had hung up on the other end of the communicator.

Mokuba turned to the west.

"Let's go guys," Mokuba called to his monsters, "We've got a city to claim!"

The second the rebels guarding Seirauna saw the monsters, they realized Mokuba was a marshal. Since they had no marshals at the site, the terrified rebels fled the city. Mokuba led his monsters into the center of the city, taking a seat by a deserted shop. His monsters sat down in front of him, when Mokuba noticed that Three-Headed Geedo's Life Points were starting to return. Pleased to see one of his creatures resting and recovering, he contacted his brother and Marthis.

"Seirauna's ours!" Mokuba cheered through the communicator. Seto and Marthis were on the receiving lines.

"Good job, Mokuba," Marthis praised, then turned to Seto. "We have control of one village and are hunting for any traitors that might have gotten away. Once this news reaches the resistance army, they'll have no choice but to come out and fight us."

Seto spoke into his communicator. "Did you hear that, Mokuba? There's probably going to be another marshal headed your way soon."

"Got it," Mokuba replied.

"When they do, you can either fortify your defenses or take the opportunity to crush another village." Marthis explained. "What are your orders, Kaiba? Facing the enemy in a castle or town will give us the upper hand."

"What do you think, Mokuba? Should I send Marthis over there for extra back-up?"

"Actually..." Mokuba commented, "I'm feeling pretty confident after defeating Berfomet. Bring on the enemy! I can take them alone! Ha ha!"

"Fine," Seto responded. He turned to Marthis. "You're the one who likes raiding villages. Go take over the windmill city."

"That would be Ru-Ma-Pann, Lord Kaiba."

"Yeah, that one," Seto replied sarcastically, watching Berfomet come flying onto the roof of the castle in Maryah-Denn. Marthis ran through the door, his monsters beside him, eager to scare some traitors.

As Marthis left the building, he caught eye of a team of monsters walking towards the town of Seirauna, then finally breaking down the door. He quickly adjusted his communicator to speak with Seto and Mokuba.

"Both of you, listen to me- especially you, Mokuba." Marthis addressed them. "We have encountered the enemy marshals. It should be an easy win."

"Yeah, he's coming this way!" Mokuba stated over the communicator.

"When two or more marshals meet in battle, each commands his monsters to attack the enemy. If you defeat all the enemy monsters, you win. If you are both unable to completely defeat the other's monsters, and both teams have no Action Points left, the team with the advantage wins. When a marshal's monsters are defeated, he must return to his main base. The marshal cannot return to the battlefield until his monsters recover, which takes about five to six hours." Marthis explained. "If the Kaiba unit is defeated, then the entire unit is defeated. Did you hear that?"

"Yes," Seto replied simply.

"Well, since you don't seem to be your old self just yet, try not to take on more than you can handle." Marthis cautioned. A click on the communicator indicated that the Emperor's advisor had logged off.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Mokuba found himself pitted in battle against a middle-aged man. He didn't appear to be too much of a peasant; he wore a dark brown jacket with pants to match, and a pale green shirt. He even wore a brown, bowler-like hat atop his head. His hair and eyes were dark, and his skin had a tan pigment to it. He brushed at his mustache in anger.

"Curse you, you imperial curs!" he shouted in anger. "You will not break the will of the people!"

Mokuba held up his arm with the Duel Disk attached. "Hitotsu-Me Giant, Dark King of the Abyss, Three-Headed Geedo! Summon!"

His opponent lifted his arm with the Duel Disk on. "Big Insect! Mystic Horseman! Kanikabuto! Summon!"

Mokuba started the match by having Hitotsu-Me Giant attack Kanikabuto.

_If I can destroy his weaker monsters first, it'll be easier to win and he'll have less help to rely on in later battles!_

"Now, Three-Headed Geedo! Attack Kanikabuto with Razzle-Dazzle!"

The energy orb lowered the crab-like monster's Life Points further.

"Now I'll take a turn!" the man declared. Mokuba noticed on the Duel Disk's information display that his name was Jusell. "Big Insect, attack Hitotsu-Me Giant with Ant Acid!"

The gigantic ant leapt up and spun around halfway. Lifting its abdomen, it released a cloud of yellow, foul-smelling mist. It sprayed Hitotsu-Me Giant, and even Mokuba was hit with some of the 'aftershock'. He covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, choking on the odor as his eyes burned.

"I know," Jusell commented, uncovering his mouth and nose. "It's a terrible attack."

Mokuba grinned briefly at his opponent's comments.

"Okay, Kanikabuto!" Jusell directed. "Use Karnack's Bubbles on Three-Headed Geedo!"

The green and orange crab-like monster snapped its claws twice in the air. Mokuba didn't see it actually attacking, but then he noticed a white puddle of light appear under his monster. Suddenly, a stream of bubbles erupted from underneath it, and multiple sounds of popping filled the air. Fortunately, Kanikabuto was a weak monster, and the attack only delivered minimal damage to Three-Headed Geedo.

"Dark King of the Abyss! Attack Kanikabuto with Inferno Trial!"

The laser-like beam hit its mark.

"Mystic Horseman! Use Paralysis Scythe on Three-Headed Geedo!"

The centaur leapt forward and swung his scythe in an upward arc, slashing up the front of Geedo's body.

"Hitotsu-Me Giant, it's your turn now! Attack Kanikabuto again with Sledge Hammer!"

Kanikabuto's 'head' was slammed into the dirt by the impact, causing a little extra damage.

"Three-Headed Geedo, you've worked hard! Guard position!"

The Darklands creature crossed its arms over the front of its body, and it kneeled down.

"Big Insect, attack Dark King of the Abyss with Ant Acid!"

The fiend's vital capacity fell from 850 to 734 Life Points.

"Now, Kanikabuto, attack Three-Headed Geedo with Karnack's Bubbles!"

Mokuba braced himself at the thought of his monster becoming overwhelmed and passing out. Sure enough, the attack caused his monster to flinch, but it knelt back down again in the Guard position. Mokuba realized that it hadn't taken any damage- because Geedo's defensive power was greater than Kanikabuto's offensive power!

"Dark King of the Abyss! Attack Kanikabuto again with Inferno Trial!"

Mystic Horseman attempted to attack Three-Headed Geedo, but swung his scythe too short in front and missed completely. Apparently, being in Guard position gave monsters a better chance to avoid attacks.

Mokuba won the battle with the advantage. A high-pitched jingle sound came from his Duel Disk. He glanced down and noticed that his information screen had popped up.

"Mokuba, Level 2 Marshal..." he read, "Hitotsu-Me Giant, Level 2... Dark King of the Abyss, still Level 1... and Three-Headed Geedo, Level 2!"

He glanced up and saw Jusell walking out of the city.

"Hey! Where are you going? Are you going to quit just like that?"

"Of course not!" Jusell called over his shoulder. "I'm just stepping out to get my monsters to recover their Action Points! I'll only be gone five minutes! It'll give you a chance to recover yours as well!"

Even if he was the enemy, even if he was the opponent... Mokuba had to admit that for a foe, the man wasn't so bad.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

"I just took over Ru-Ma-Pann!" Marthis declared triumphantly through the communicator to Seto.

"Now stay there. _I'm_ going for Riz-Phonn," Kaiba replied.

"What?" cried the voice on the other end of the communicator. "But-"

Seto turned off his communicator.

"You're sure you'll be okay on your own?" Shizuka asked.

"Positive. It'll give me the extra strength I need."

"Okay then..."

Seto straightened his trenchcoat and beckoned to his monsters.

"You saw how the communicators work, right? Call me or Marthis if something goes wrong." he instructed her.

He opened the doors and left the castle.

"Be careful! Good luck!" Shizuka yelled out to him.

Whether he hadn't heard her or he simply chose to ignore her, Seto did not reply.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

By the time Seto had reached Riz-Phonn, Mokuba was in his fourth battle against Jusell. His brother was clearly performing well despite losing his three-headed monster in the second battle; Mokuba was a Level 4 Marshal now with his Dark King at Level 2 and his Giant at Level 3. Suddenly, the Emperor's Adviser contacted him.

"Kaiba, are you there? It's me, Marthis."

"Of course it's you. What do you want?" Seto asked impatiently.

"Are you at Riz-Phonn yet?"

"Yes," Seto stated, bored with Marthis's constant inquiries.

"Good. It's time to attack the enemy's main base." Marthis instructed.

"I can tell."

"You cannot defeat an enemy in its main base, town or castle, simply by fighting better than them." Marthis explained. "You must force the enemy to flee or defeat all of the enemy's monsters in order to win. It is difficult to defeat an enemy in their stronghold unless you surround them and attack in waves. I told you I should've gone to Riz-Phonn with you!"

Seto shook his head at the obvious instructions, but this WAS the program's way of giving a tutorial in fighting and giving a character personality.

"Be careful not to chase the enemy too far." Marthis warned. "They might be leading you into a trap. Now let's go get the enemy!"

Seto heard the click of the communicator at the other end. He walked through the gateway into the small city.

Awaiting him was a young man roughly his age. His hair was short, dark, and ruffled, and he wore a headpiece of gold wire around his forehead. His tunic was pale and quite dusty. One of his sleeves had clearly been previously torn off, because one sleeve of his tunic was navy blue. He had brown pants that reached halfway down his calves, and he had thin sandals on his feet. His dark eyes, however, were focused on Kaiba.

"I fight for the people!" he declared. "I will win!"

He lifted his Duel-Disk clad arm into the air. Kaiba, in his first fight, followed suit.

"Octoberser! Ryu-Kishin Powered! Dharma Cannon! Summon!"

"Armored Lizard! Crawling Dragon! Water Girl! Summon!"

According to the information read-out, his opponent was named Malairuka.

"I'll go first!" Malairuka declared. "Octoberser, attack Crawling Dragon with Poseidon's Spear!"

The fish-man with tentacles for legs gripped the harpoon in its hand tightly, before spiking it at Kaiba's dragon. It dissolved into light energy in mid-flight and pierced the dragon. The physical harpoon materialized in Octoberser's hand once again after Crawling Dragon had taken damage.

Seto studied the information on his readout and concluded that Dharma Cannon was Malairuka's weakest monster and easiest to eliminate.

"Water Girl, attack Dharma Cannon with Water Tornado!" The lovely spellcaster twirled in the air and lifted her hand, producing a spray of bubbles that flew out and popped violently against Dharma Cannon's body.

"Dharma Cannon, attack Armored Lizard with Cannon Fire!" The small robot twirled its guns, then fired energy shots in the colors of red and purple at the reptile to deliver a meager amount of damage.

"Crawling Dragon, attack Dharma Cannon with Flame Burst!" The dragon deeply inhaled, then shot a heavy ball of fire at the small robot.

"Ryu-Kishin Powered, Guard yourself!" Malairuka commanded. The darklands creature remained hovering in flight, yet it curved its claws in front of its body to shield itself from harm.

"Armored Lizard, attack Dharma Cannon with Battle Arts Claw!" With a shrill cry, the reptile leapt forward and raked its claws brutally across the front of the machine's body.

Octoberser attacked Crawling Dragon again, but the damage didn't concern Seto. He ordered Water Girl to attack Dharma Cannon, and she delivered a critical hit to overpower the hovering machine. It fell to the ground.

Because Dharma Cannon could no longer attack, Seto got to take his turn with Crawling Dragon immediately. He ordered it to attack Octoberser.

"Ryu-Kishin Powered, attack Water Girl with Powered Beam!" Malairuka ordered.

The pink-colored fiend drew back to take in energy, before shooting a smoking beam of orange light at the spellcaster. She drew back briefly, but she was still okay.

Armored Lizard attacked Octoberser, dropping its Life Points further. Malairuka concluded the match by having Octoberser attack Water Girl, but he still didn't have the advantage points to claim victory over Seto.

The first match went to Team Kaiba.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

"Go, Hitotsu-Me Giant! Finish off his horseman! Sledge Hammer!"

The behemoth monster leapt into the air and pummeled its opponent in a single strike. The centaur collapsed onto its beastly knees. Even Jusell appeared overwhelmed.

"It might have taken five matches, but you have finally defeated me." he stated. "You're on your way to becoming a powerful marshal. I only wish that power wasn't being wasted to support the Imperial army."

Mokuba did not reply; he modestly shuffled his foot in the dirt. He had become a Level 6 Marshal, and his monsters had reached Level 2, 3, and 4. He watched as Hitotsu-Me Giant tried to pull Three-Headed Geedo, defeated in their second match, to its feet.

"You know, we-" Mokuba paused to see Jusell leaving the city. "Where are you going?"

"I have been defeated." Jusell explained. "I must return to my main base."

He smiled briefly. "I understand you are eager for battle, but my minions need their rest."

Without another word, he turned and continued along the path to Riz-Phonn.

Mokuba turned on his communicator.

"Hey, Marthis?"

"Yes?"

"I'm going to head back to Maryah-Denn. Shizuka's probably bored or lonely."

"Very well then, Mokuba. I'll head over to Riz-Phonn to make sure your older brother's all right."

Mokuba grinned at the comment, even though Marthis wasn't around to see him.

"If I know my big brother, he's probably just fine."

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Marthis arrived just in time to witness Seto ending his third battle. He had won the first match, and he had won the second one after that.

"Crawling Dragon, finish off Ryu-Kishin Powered! Attack with Flame Burst!"

The fireball did not miss its mark. The pink fiend fell to the ground, exhausted, and lacking the will to fight any longer. The shockwaves left the rebel stunned, falling to his knees. Despite losing his footing, he hadn't completely lost his energy.

"Even if you defeat me," Malairuka vowed, glaring at Seto. "There are others who will avenge me!"

"... ..." Seto did not reply, glaring back at his fallen opponent.

"Just you wait and see! The others will stop you!" Malairuka growled. "The Black Dragon Squa-"

He was silenced by Marthis, who kicked him in the stomach, forcing him to the ground.

"You did it!" Marthis congratulated. "Well fought, sir. Even if you're not feeling quite right!"

He laughed merrily, but Seto's eyes were on Malairuka, who was still glaring at him despite lying out flat on the ground.

An older man suddenly walked through the gate, horrified to see Marthis and Seto standing there. He appeared ready to run, but Marthis stopped him.

"Club Scissors!" he sneered.

Zarigun clubbed the man with a single claw, sending him flying onto his stomach beside Malairuka.

"Jusell!" the younger rebel gasped.

Marthis ignored them, continuing to address Kaiba.

"Those rebels now know what a foolish gesture this revolt was. Preparations for the public executions are well underway." Jusell and Malairuka gazed up at Marthis in horror. The Emperor's advisor clapped his hands together in glee. "What a sight that will be, the rebel fools!"

Kaiba was sick of hearing Marthis talk, especially about his sadistic pleasures.

"Be quiet or I'll rip that tongue of yours out and feed it to the dogs."

"Yikes!" Marthis jumped back in shock.

Seto did, however, have one question. "What will we do about their monsters?"

Marthis shrugged.

"I don't know. Kill them too, probably."

One monster seemed smart enough to understand this. Ryu-Kishin Powered crawled forward and rested itself at Seto's feet.

"Oh, how cute. He wants to go home with you." Marthis cooed teasingly. "What a smart creature, giving up the side of the rebellion to join with the far superior Imperial Guard!"

He stepped behind a small shop.

"Ah, what do we have here?"

He walked from behind it, carrying two vials of red liquid; one was full, the other was only one-third full. He also had a vial of blue liquid under his arm and what appeared to be an ankh under the other. Marthis grinned and walked over to the pink fiend, pouring the last of the red liquid in the nearly empty vial into its mouth.

"There, you like that Red Medicine, don't you? See what you get when you support the Empire?"

Suddenly, the creature appeared full of life.

"Go with Kaiba over there."

Marthis stepped over to the two rebels. He pulled out a length of rope he had attached to his belt. He proceeded to tie up Malairuka's arms, and then Jusell's arms as well.

"I'll go ahead and deliver these two to Sygh-Varths for their execution. You take the monster and your team and head back to Maryah-Denn. You can lead your brother and the girl back to the palace from there." He tossed a copy of the Rondeval map at Seto.

"Try to be quick. You should be arriving back to the palace by tonight. My monsters are a bit slower than yours, so I'll be arriving tomorrow morning." Marthis instructed.

Seto turned and left, his monsters following him. Marthis walked off with Malairuka and Jusell forced to follow him. Saggi the Dark Clown and Zarigun walked alongside the rebels in case they tried to retaliate.

The CEO gazed out at the forest before him, which Ryu-Kishin Powered was already flying over.

_The Black Dragon Squad?_ Seto wondered, recalling Malairuka's words. _Who could they be?_

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

As Marthis had predicted, Seto, Mokuba, and Shizuka returned to Sygh-Varths by that evening. They had been able to fly upon the backs of the monsters they had met that day. Mokuba rode upon the smaller monster, Ryu-Kishin Powered, whereas Seto and Shizuka rode upon Berfomet. The two teams of monsters that normally accompanied Seto and Mokuba did a good job of keeping up with the flying monsters. Kaiba had finally noted at lunch that he was now a Level 3 Marshal with all of his monsters at Level 2.

The next morning, Marthis had arrived with his prisoners. It was announced that afternoon that they would be given a public beheading by the next morning.

True to Marthis' word, Jusell and Malairuka were the first rebels to be captured by Kaiba's forces...

... and killed at Haysheen's orders.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated and encouraged!**


	3. Bandits

_It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees. - Dolores Ibarruri_

**Chapter 3: Bandits**

After the Maryah-Denn Massacre, resistance forces ceased their open defiance, fearing reprisal from the Imperial Guard.

But that wouldn't stop the resistance completely, as Kaiba and his followers would find out a few days later...

"The resistance has started attacking small imperial forces across the continent. The Empire has been unable to restore public order." Haysheen explained to his young general. "Thieves have been taking advantage of this situation, so I'm sending you to restore order."

Seto folded his arms, which Haysheen took as a sign of understanding.

"I want you to subdue a particularly nasty group," Haysheen demanded. "They call themselves the "Bandits". And that's a direct order."

Marthis hustled to carry a map over to the table where Seto, Mokuba, and Shizuka were seated. He stumbled along the way and the mask he normally wore fell from his face. He grumbled and stood up, picking up his mask as well as the map. Underneath the eggshell-like mask, Marthis's skin appeared quite pale, and he appeared to be much younger than Haysheen, but older than Seto - placing him around the age of thirty. He had golden-brown hair that fell across his forehead. Marthis had two scars on his face by his green eyes- one on the right was thin and ran through his eye, the other was on the left side of his face, cross-shaped, and rested on his cheek.

"Sorry about that," Marthis mumbled, pulling his mask over his face. "here's the map."

He rolled it out on the table for the four of them to see.

"The "Bandits" seem to be focusing their activities on Vaxi Island." he pointed out the large, crescent-like island on the northwest coast of the mainland. "We cannot give these thieves their run of the Empire. We must stop them."

Seto glanced up at Marthis.

"I suppose you have a plan?"

"Yes, I do." Marthis replied. "But as the leader of the unit, YOU should be formulating the strategies rather than me."

Seto rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, we will pretend to be a supply unit transporting goods along the Central Way road on Vaxi Island. If we make it look like we're unprotected, they're sure to attack. THAT'S when we turn the tables on them!" Marthis exclaimed, slamming a fist onto the table in vigor. "It should be easy for one of your... 'talents'. Heh-heheheh..."

Marthis chuckled at the last part. Seto glared at the advisor, and replied with his typical "Hmph."

"That reminds me, I believe you received some items in our last engagement. You can use those items by equipping the monsters with them. Just remember you can't change your mind once you send a monster into battle. When preparing for battle, think carefully about which item you give to each monster."

They left the room and headed down to the barn, where the monsters were continuing to be kept. Now two of the previously empty stalls were occupied by Berfomet and Ryu-Kishin Powered.

"If you'd like to change monsters, feel free," Marthis explained.

"No thanks," Mokuba replied. "I'm sticking with my lucky team!"

"I'm going to leave Water Girl behind this time," Seto stated. "And I'm taking Ryu-Kishin Powered with me. I'm making it my leader. Other than that, I'm keeping my team."

He noticed it had dropped in power by one level after they had acquired it from Malairuka; it was probably a system programmed into the game.

"Then I'll take Berfomet, Water Girl, and Saggi-" Marthis decided.

"You might as well take the same team. It doesn't matter what team you take with you; you're still not going to fight." Seto interrupted. "Also, I'm taking the Blue Medicine and Monster Reborn with me. Mokuba, you're taking the Red Medicine."

Seto placed a pouch containing the blue liquid onto a rope, he then approached Armored Lizard cautiously and tied the rope around the creature's waist, like a belt. Similarly, he looped a rope through the ankh-like item, and carefully tied it like a necklace around the neck of Ryu-Kishin Powered- not too tight, not too loose. Mokuba followed his big brother's lead and tied a belt with a vial of Red Medicine to Hitotsu-Me Giant's waist.

"But-!" Marthis protested.

"I'm in command of the marshals here." Seto stated, silencing the Emperor's advisor.

Marthis frowned and closed the door to Berfomet's stall, then walked over to open the door to Zarigun's enclosure.

_You'll need my help eventually... you wait and see, Kaiba!_

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

With a flying monster to make travel go by faster, it took only a day to reach the island, including taking a ferry late at night to cross the body of water to Vaxi Island from the mainland.

The next morning, Seto, Mokuba, Shizuka, and Marthis arrived to the Central Way road. After a simple breakfast, they made their way to Telenoes. There seemed to be no enemies in sight... but there were enemies that made sight of them.

"Damn it," Keith muttered from the watch tower in Phagttuon. He lowered his binoculars. "We've got company."

He lifted them up to his eyes again as Ghost Kotsuzuka - a smaller and much younger boy with distinctly bony facial features - brought him the breakfast he had packaged.

"Hold on a sec!" he cried. He glanced back to Telenoes and spotted a familiar white trenchcoat and black leather clothes. "Isn't that Kaiba? Head of the Imperial Guard?"

"Oh no!" his underling panicked. "No one said he was going to be here! Do something, boss!"

Keith glared at Kotsuzuka. Before the younger boy could react, the back of Keith's hand smacked him in the mouth, knocking him to the floor of the watchtower. "Shut up, you fool!" Keith growled. "You know what Kaiba's like. We don't stand a chance against him!"

Kotsuzuka pulled himself up to his knees, his face throbbing in pain, the taste of blood in his mouth.

"So if we can't beat him, let's at least give him something to remember us by!" Keith declared.

Despite the blood freshly falling from his lip, Kotsuzuka stood up and saluted. "That's the spirit, boss!"

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

"So, what's your strategy for today, Commander?" Marthis asked mockingly. Seto glared at him.

"We seem to have a good strategy going by conquering other forts. Mokuba, I think you can handle capturing another fort, considering how well you battled that man a few days ago."

"Jusell," Mokuba corrected, a tone of regret in his voice.

"Whatever. I want you to go to the fort out there, right across from ours."

"That would be Dyethruo," Marthis informed. "And we're currently in Telenoes now."

"Go take over _Dyethruo_, Mokuba." Seto ordered, glaring at Marthis.

Trying to escape the argument as fast as possible, Mokuba called for his monsters and ran for Dyethruo.

Fifteen minutes later, Mokuba's voice came through on the communicators.

"I've captured Dyethruo!"

"Good job," Seto replied.

"We have taken the fort. The few men left guarding the fort have also run off. Those thieves are going to try everything in their power to take the fort back. Should your equipment allow it, you might want to consider strengthening the defenses with some equipment." Marthis commented.

"Equipment?" Seto asked.

"Equipment are offensive and defensive additions made to a castle or fort that provide an advantage in battle." Marthis explained. "For instance, you could install a large cannon to fire at approaching forces or construct a barricade. Of course, each new piece of equipment requires money, so plan accordingly."

"You moron!" Seto insulted. "Why didn't you mention that earlier? We could've given some money for him to pay for equipment!"

"I don't think it would've mattered," Mokuba commented through the communicator. "I'm not nearly strong enough to build a cannon."

"Kaiba! There's someone going to the fort!" Shizuka shouted to him.

Seto ran over beside her. Sure enough, a snake-like human being was slithering over to Dyethruo, with two other monsters and a human following.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Kotsuzuka cracked his knuckles eagerly as he stepped through the gate to Dyethruo.

"With you at my side, I feel like I can do anything, boss!" the ghostly boy said to his communicator, walking into the center of the fort.

The other end responded with an uninterested grunt, before shutting off at the other end. Kotsuzuka frowned, before a voice caught his attention.

"Not so fast!" Mokuba challenged. "You can't claim this fort as long as I'm here! Three-Headed Geedo, Dark King of the Abyss, Hitotsu-Me Giant! Summon!"

"I guess I'll just have to eliminate you, then." Kotsuzuka taunted. "Phantom Dewan! Snake Hair! Midnight Fiend! Summon!"

Each team of monsters stood in front of their marshal, ready to obey commands.

"Midnight Fiend!" Kotsuzuka commanded, "Attack Dark King of the Abyss with Poison Twin Claws!"

The winged fiend swooped forward and raised its arms into the air, then slashed them downward brutally, clawing the wicked ruler brutally.

During the attack, Mokuba noticed that Midnight Fiend had a 'belt' for items around its waist.

_If I can destroy that monster,_ Mokuba strategized, _He won't be able to use that medicine, and __I can make it harder for him to hold on!_

"Three-Headed Geedo, attack Midnight Fiend with Razzle Dazzle! And Hitotsu-Me Giant, attack Midnight Fiend with Sledge Hammer!"

"Snake Hair, attack Hitotsu-Me Giant with Stone Eyes!" The Medusa-like being crossed her arms in front of her, then fired golden laser beams from her eyes at the cyclops. "Phantom Dewan, use Spell Bind on Hitotsu-Me Giant, too!" The small ghost-like creature circled its hands, then pointed at Hitotsu-Me Giant. Golden beams of energy struck the cyclops for a slight amount of damage.

"Dark King of the Abyss, attack Midnight Fiend with Inferno Trial!" The green energy beam hit the fiend precisely. Midnight Fiend had less than half of its Life Points left.

"I see what you're up to! Midnight Fiend, heal yourself with Blue Medicine!"

The game actually appeared to carry out the command; a blue dome of light concealed Midnight Fiend briefly, then vanished. Midnight Fiend had recovered about 200 Life Points.

"Three-Headed Geedo, attack Midnight Fiend with Razzle Dazzle! Hitotsu-Me Giant, attack Midnight Fiend with Sledge Hammer!"

Both monsters landed their attacks.

"Snake Hair, attack Dark King of the Abyss with Stone Eyes! Phantom Dewan, use Spell Bind on Three-Headed Geedo!"

Snake Hair misfired her attack, but Phantom Dewan nailed Three-Headed Geedo, delivering a little extra damage in such a precise hit.

"Dark King of the Abyss, attack Midnight Fiend with Inferno Trial!"

The attack was successful, and ended the battle between the two boys.

When the scores were totaled, Mokuba had won based on advantage points, but not by much- only by about 200 points.

Kotsuzuka led his monsters outside, but before he left, he turned to Mokuba.

"You know," he remarked. "I've always served my boss to defeat wild monsters that roamed our way. I've never fought a real marshal before. This is my first time fighting one."

"Really?" Mokuba asked. He grinned, cupped his hands around his , and called out to his opponent, "Then hurry up and get your Action Points restored! You're putting up a great fight!"

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

Seto noticed on his Duel Disk's information display that Mokuba had defeated the other boy that came to challenge him.

"All right, he's won the first fight."

Seto beckoned to his monsters.

"Mokuba will be fine," the CEO concluded. "I'm going to go after the leader now."

"Maybe I should go help Mokuba," Marthis suggested.

"He'll be fine," Seto stated. "You stay here with the girl. If the other kid comes this way for whatever reason, then you can fight. But for now, he's Mokuba's opponent."

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Mokuba and Kotsuzuka had finished their second battle, with Mokuba winning yet again. The ghostly boy's monsters were sitting outside to recover, except for Midnight Fiend. It had been defeated that round.

However, Kotsuzuka had actually been allowed by Mokuba to sit inside the fort to talk. The gesture surprised him, but he was willing to engage in a short conversation.

"So, you were actually in Duelist Kingdom?" Mokuba asked the boy sitting across from him on the ground. "I thought you might have just been a unique virtual character here."

"No," Kotsuzuka laughed. "My deck is made up of zombie and ghost type monsters. Do you know Jounouchi Katsuya?"

"Yeah," Mokuba replied. "In fact, his sister is currently staying with us! I guess you must have dueled against him...?"

"Looking back, he really made a great comeback in our duel. So much for my boss's expert strategy." Kotsuzuka muttered the last part, perhaps with a bit of contempt in his voice. "Even then, after that duel, his next expert strategy was to beat me and his two other henchmen up and steal our Star Chips."

"Oh... What about Battle City?" Mokuba asked, trying to change the subject.

The slightly older boy looked up at the younger Kaiba, a brief flash of panic and regret crossing his features.

"Battle City... I would prefer to forget what happened in Battle City..." Kotsuzuka murmured.

"Oh... I think my monsters are ready to fight," Mokuba noted, deciding not to press the subject any further. "You should probably get yours so we can finish this fight!"

"All right," Kotsuzuka stood up, dusting himself off.

"By the way, who's your 'boss', exactly?" Mokuba asked as his opponent was leaving.

He bit on his lip, flinching as he felt the pain from his previous injury kick in.

"... Bandit Keith."

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Ryu-Kishin Powered tackled down the gate to the fort.

"Do these imperial dogs really think they can defeat me?" Keith snarled.

"Definitely," Seto stated defiantly. "I'm the best duelist in Japan." He was too proud to list himself as only 'second-best'.

"Really?" Keith taunted. "Well, you might be the best duelist in Japan, but I'm the best duelist... in America!"

"Armored Lizard, Ryu-Kishin Powered, Crawling Dragon! Summon!"

"Cyber Commander, Robotic Knight, Dharma Cannon! Summon!"

The six monsters faced each other for battle.

"Cyber Commander, attack Armored Lizard with Overdrive Spray!" the human knelt down and fired a large gun at the reptile.

"Robotic Knight, attack Crawling Dragon with Blitz Fire!" Using a machine gun built into one arm, the robot fired a barrage of blue bullets at the dragon.

"Crawling Dragon, attack Cyber Commander! Use Flame Blast!" Excellent! The fireball was larger and stronger than normal, a critical hit!

"That was a lucky shot!" Keith roared. "Dharma Cannon, attack Crawling Dragon with Cannon Fire!"

"Armored Lizard, attack Cyber Commander with Battle Arts Claw!" The slashing swipe delivered a hefty amount of damage as well, though not critical. Nonetheless, Cyber Commander was barely hanging on.

"Let's finish it off!" Kaiba shouted. "Ryu-Kishin Powered, attack Cyber Commander with Powered Beam!" The gunman collapsed onto his back, the attack being powerful enough to knock him out.

Keith growled and cursed under his breath, frustrated and angered at the same time.

_For Round 2, let's go after Dharma Cannon..._ Seto thought to himself, a smirk on his face.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

"Hitotsu-Me Giant, attack Snake Hair with Sledge Hammer!" the attack hit the mark, knocking the serpent-like lady down to the ground.

"Victory!" Mokuba cheered. He had become a Level 8 marshal, Hitotsu-Me Giant had grown to Level 6, Dark King of the Abyss had reached Level 5, and Three-Headed Geedo reached Level 4.

"You're good," Kotsuzuka complimented, kneeling down beside his zombie monster to make sure she hadn't been injured severely. "Maybe too good."

He laughed with Mokuba.

"Well, there's nothing I can do now but go back," the boy sighed, standing up. "Your brother's probably close to defeating or being defeated by Keith. Probably the first one."

He walked off, his tired out monsters following him.

"If that guy betrayed you before, why did you go back to working for him?" Mokuba asked.

Kotsuzuka paused, turning around to face Mokuba.

"I didn't really have any other choice. I have nowhere else to go; no one else to turn to," the bony boy replied quietly. He turned back around and continued walking off.

Mokuba watched him approach the horizon, then remembered that his brother was at the same base. With a smile, he beckoned his monsters to follow him and like Kotsuzuka, he set off for Phagttuon.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Seto had won the second fight after defeating Dharma Cannon. Now here he was in the third fight, about to defeat Bandit Keith.

"Ryu-Kishin Powered, attack Robotic Knight with Powered Beam!" The powerful beam of energy delivered 183 points of damage, enough to deplete Robotic Knight's remaining 139 Life Points.

Keith clenched his fists angrily and snarled as his machine fell.

"That's far enough." Seto concluded, folding his arms. "Surrender now."

Keith glared up at the young CEO, going from anger to rage in only a few seconds.

"You're not going to take me in!"

He ran forward, surprising Kaiba, and before he could react, he had been punched in the side and thrown to the ground.

"Catch you later!" Keith taunted over his shoulder as he ran off. "If you're still alive, that is! HAH HA HA HA HAH!" His machines and gunman weakly limped behind him as fast as they could.

Kaiba cursed at the man under his breath as he rose to his feet. His palms had been abraded against the rocky ground and now had smeared blood on them.

After standing up, a boy about Mokuba's age ran past him anxiously to the center of the fort, glacing around Phagttuon in a panicked manner. "Boss! Don't leave me behind!"

Marthis and Shizuka came walking over.

"What are you doing here?" Kaiba asked Marthis angrily as he stood up.

"We won, didn't we? There was no point in staying at the fort with that worthless girl."

Shizuka appeared insulted by the term 'worthless', until she spotted Kaiba's hands.

"Oh, you're hurt..." she glanced from Kaiba to Marthis. "May I see your cape for a moment, please?"

Marthis undid the cape draped around his neck and held it out to her. Much to his horror, she ripped two long strips of fabric off of it. Seto had to suppress the urge to laugh at the Emperor's advisor.

"Wench!" Marthis snarled, yanking his freshly torn cape from her. "What have you done?"

Shizuka did not reply; she went to Kaiba instead.

"Let me see your hands." she requested.

Seto normally didn't take orders from a random girl like her, but he held out his hands. Shizuka reached down and grabbed the canteen she carried at her waist. Untwisting the cap, she poured the last of her water over Kaiba's hands. The cooling sensation of the water numbed the hot, stinging pain of his bleeding hands, and Seto had to admit it certainly felt much better than before. She weaved the strips of fabric around Seto's palms and around his fingers, before tucking the ends of the makeshift bandages underneath one of the folds in the strips.

"Huh," Seto commented, staring at his wrapped hands. "I guess Marthis was wrong about you after all."

Shizuka beamed at him, interpreting his comment as a compliment.

Marthis ignored the situation, glancing over at Kotsuzuka as Mokuba came running into the fort to greet his older brother. "We failed to catch the leader. Then his underling will just have to take twice the punishment, then."

Kotsuzuka glanced up at him in horror. "No, wait! Please forgive me! I don't want to die!" He crawled over and knelt in front of Marthis, clasping his hands together. "I'll work for the Empire if you let me live! Pleeeease!"

"Hah!" Marthis scoffed. "The Empire has no need for your kind! The only thing the Emperor expects from you is your head on a platter!"

He dragged a finger across his neckline in the familiar gesture of death. Underneath his mask, he had a wicked grin across his face.

The boy bowed down now, so far that his forehead was pressed into the dirt. He was on the brink of tears now.

"I don't want to die!" Kotsuzuka choked. "Spare me! Have mercy!"

Seto stared at the boy, wondering what would befall him, until he felt a tug on his arm.

"We can't let Marthis do this," Mokuba whispered.

"Hmm?" Seto asked.

"Geez, look at this poor guy." Mokuba sympathized, speaking louder. "Don't you think we should save him, Seto?"

Marthis glanced over at the brothers, hearing the word 'save' passed between them. Kotsuzuka's head shot up as well.

Seto looked at his younger brother, whose eyes were pleading with him to spare the boy. Then he looked over at Kotsuzuka, who was mentally asking the same thing.

"I suppose so. He might prove useful."

The boy's mouth hung open in delighted yet relieved surprise.

"What?" Marthis exclaimed. "He's guilty of treason against the Empire! If he is not executed, what becomes of the law?"

Kaiba grabbed Marthis by the part of his cape that wrapped around his chest in front. He pulled him in front of him so that they were face to face.

"What of the law?" Kaiba asked. "You kill for your own pleasure, not because the law demands it."

He let go of Marthis, who stumbled backwards.

"I've made up my mind." Kaiba decided. "I will accept responsibility for this man." He gestured at Kotsuzuka, who grinned at him.

"Is that a problem for you, Marthis?" Seto asked, folding his arms.

"Kaiba!" Marthis protested.

"I'm in charge here. Disobeying your commanding officer is a serious military crime, if I'm not mistaken." Kaiba declared.

Marthis backed off, knowing that it was useless to argue with him. He turned around and walked off to prepare his monsters for traveling, muttering under his breath.

"... _You'll pay for this, Kaiba. Oh, you'll pay..._"

"Thank you!" Kotsuzuka gasped, crawling in front of Kaiba and bowing in front of him. "My life is yours, Mister Kaiba. I may not be very strong, but I am a marshal! I'll do anything for you!"

"Then get off the ground," Kaiba replied. "If you're going to serve me in battle, you can't act like this. You need to be stronger."

Seto walked away from him, leaving Kotsuzuka kneeling on the ground, confused by the brunet's words. An outstretched, open hand fell in front of him, distracting him from his thoughts; an offer to help him to his feet. Sure enough, it was the same boy he had dueled against. He took it and stood up.

"Well, I guess you should get your monsters and follow us, uh..."

"Ghost Kotsuzuka."

"And I'm Mokuba, Kaiba's younger brother."

Since their hands were still clasped, they shook hands.

"Give me a second, though." the bony boy requested. "I know where we can get some supplies before we head out."

He ran into a small wooden cabin in the fort, then came out carrying a vial of Blue Medicine, a vial of Red Medicine, and the ankh-like device that held the powers of "Monster Reborn".

Mokuba ran over and took one of the vials from him to help him carry everything.

"Thanks," Kotsuzuka said.

"No, thank you," Mokuba replied with a grin. "When Seto sees this stuff, I'm sure he'll be glad that we rescued you after all."

The team of five gathered the supplies and called for the monsters they had with them. Finally, they could return south, back to the Emperor's palace.

With a new marshal now serving the Empire, things seemed to be going well.

However, much to the Emperor's dismay, that would change within a few days.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

**Thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated and encouraged!**


	4. Surrounded

_For manipulation to be most effective, evidence of its presence should be nonexistent... It is essential, therefore, that people who are manipulated believe in the neutrality of their key social institutions. - Herbert Schiller_

**Chapter 4: Surrounded**

Over the next few days following Keith's escape, the Imperial forces were busy trying to restore order. However, the resistance army had been growing at the same time.

"It's so large now that it has launched an offensive on Enno Fortress, and it's the largest fort in the Empire." Emperor Haysheen explained, exhaling in exasperation. "If we lose that fort... I dare not think about it. They have requested reinforcements, so I'm sending you along with the Imperial Guard to the fortress."

His general's eyes were locked with his, in a sign of understanding.

"Don't let me down, Kaiba."

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

The Imperial forces- along with Seto, Mokuba, Marthis, Shizuka, and now Kotsuzuka- were heavily attacked as they made their overnight trip to Enno. There was hardly any time to rest as they were being attacked all night throughout the lands. At last, the army had gotten so low in fighters that they saw it best to split into two groups- Seto and his party of marshals in one, and the remaining soldiers in another.

The next morning, they finally made their way to Enno Fortress. Apparently, splitting up had been a good idea- Kaiba's forces hadn't taken any damage.

"But where are the other soldiers?" Marthis wondered aloud, until suddenly a wounded man came running to the fortress. He was wearing the same striped blue headdress and golden mask that the Imperial soldiers often wore.

"Lord Marthis!" the man weakly shouted, falling to his knees just outside the gates. Mokuba, Shizuka, and Kotsuzuka stared at his injuries in horror from behind the castle walls; Kaiba and Marthis ran over to him. Marthis held the injured man in his arms, trying to offer succor to his ailing state.

"Lord Kaiba!" the soldier gasped, reaching out a hand to the young general. Kaiba glared down at him, unmoved. "Our rear units have been attacked and we've lost contact! We're the only ones that reached the frontline! We're doomed!"

Just giving the warning drained the soldier of all his strength. He passed out in Marthis's arms. The advisor placed him on the ground, then turned to Kaiba in panic.

"What are we going to do now, Kaiba? There's no way to even escape!"

"Hmph. What are you afraid of? You're a program; nothing but ones and zeros." Kaiba replied without any emotion.

"How can you be so calm? And what the hell are you talking about?" Marthis shouted, waving his arms frantically. "If you don't do something right now, we'll be killed!"

Mokuba and Kotsuzuka stared grimly down at Marthis and Seto.

"_Killed_?" Shizuka whispered.

"And you'll be the first one to die, Marthis..." Seto replied coolly.

"Why did I ever volunteer to serve with you?" Marthis asked angrily, his volume increasing as he spoke. "You're crazy!"

Kaiba appeared ready to counter, and Marthis appeared ready to continue his verbal assault, when suddenly a voice on everyone's Duel Disks caught their attention.

"_And you, sir, are a fool!"_

"That voice!" Kaiba gasped, glancing down at his Duel Disk.

"Pegasus!" Marthis was practically screaming now. "How dare you join this insurgent rabble! You're a member of the noble families!"

"Tsk-tsk-tsk." Pegasus scolded. "My job is to lead the country on the path of truth, not to serve the Emperor. You and Emperor Haysheen have been conducting the affairs of state most hideously. A crime for which you must pay."

"Amazing!" Mokuba marveled. "He sounds and acts just like Pegasus!"

"That's because I AM Pegasus." stated the man on the enemy lines. "Not only is our resistance more courageous than you will ever be, Marthis. We're smarter too."

Marthis cast an insulting glare at Kaiba after Pegasus made the 'smarter than you' comment. Kaiba narrowed his eyes in reply, as if to throw the blame right back at him.

"Surrender now and prepare to face my "Say You're Sorry" attack!" Pegasus taunted.

Kaiba turned away from Marthis, figuring that Pegasus was the enemy here, not Marthis.

"He may be just another character here, but even his personality is just like that of the real Pegasus." Seto observed.

"I _AM_ the real Pegasus!" groaned the voice on his communication device. "All forces! Attack!"

Sure enough, all of the castles and bases around them were suddenly captured. All they had was their own fortress to hide in, and two soldiers were heading their way. Seto and Marthis ran back inside Enno.

"Everyone, I'm going to need your help. That includes you, Marthis." Seto ordered. "We're going to build an Anti-Ground cannon to take care of the first enemy heading our way."

"Good idea," Marthis commented. "I'll go buy supplies right now!" He was suddenly a lot more eager to help.

"Kotsuzuka, after he takes damage, you're going to be the one to fight_ and _defeat him." Seto ordered. "It'll give you some extra strength."

Kotsuzuka glanced over at his team. Seto had him switch two of his monsters for stronger ones, and now instead of having Midnight Fiend and Phantom Dewan to accompany Snake Hair, he had Water Girl and Berfomet to support his Medusa-like monster.

"All right."

"Mokuba, we'll go attack Pegasus at Nua-Tua after Kotsuzuka is done with both the soldiers." Seto strategized.

"What? We're not going to leave right now?" his younger brother asked.

"We have two soldiers headed our way, so we'd have to confront them. Besides, I thought you might want to watch Kotsuzuka duel. Once you're done with your fighting, you can come with us to Nua Tua as well, Kotsuzuka."

Mokuba smiled at his brother and gave a thumbs-up to Kotsuzuka.

"And I want you to take care of Kotsuzuka's monsters in case of an emergency," Seto ordered, looking at Shizuka. "you've proven that you have medical talent, now apply it to the monsters."

"Oh," Shizuka commented softly, glancing uncomfortably at the zombie, fiend, and spellcaster. "Well, I guess..."

"It's all right," Kotsuzuka reassured. "They don't bite and they won't attack you. Trust me, I know."

Shizuka was about to reply to his comforting comment, when the sound of an explosion and the sensation of rumbling ran through their bodies.

"He must have shot the first enemy," Kaiba concluded, then gave Kotsuzuka a gentle shove towards the exit. "That's your cue."

Mokuba and Shizuka ran up to the ramparts to watch him fight, and Seto walked up behind them.

Marthis was the last person to bid Kotsuzuka to fight, but in a different approach.

"Go on," coaxed the Emperor's advisor, a grim smirk under his mask. "Go kill your first rebel."

Kotsuzuka frowned at this unique form of encouragement, then turned to see the bloody officer walking inside, with his monsters appearing droopy and exhausted. They only had one third of their Life Points remaining, as Kotsuzuka noticed on his Duel Disk. Nevertheless, this marshal refused to give up without a fight.

"Tiger Axe! Kanan the Swordsmistress! Tiger Axe!" the officer had to catch his breath briefly. "... Summon!

Kotsuzuka held up his Duel Disk. "Water Girl! Berfomet! The Snake Hair! Summon!"

His opponent was so weak, Kotsuzuka immediately took advantage of the situation to make the first attack.

"Berfomet, attack Kanan with Plains Dash! Water Girl, attack Kanan with Water Tornado!"

The fiend slashed at the warrior, and the bubbly spout from the spellcaster delivered enough damage to leave the warrior maiden barely standing.

"Tiger Axe on the left... attack Berfomet with Tiger Grasp!"

The large, armor-clad tiger leapt forward, swinging its axe powerfully, slashing against the fiend's stomach.

"Snake Hair, attack Kanan with Stone Eyes!"

The Medusa-like fiend crossed her arms over the front of her body to summon a dark cloud with the emblem of a golden eye on the front. Throwing her arms to her sides, the eye shimmered before releasing golden lasers of energy that struck the sword-wielding heroine. The attack delivered enough damage to make Kanan fall to her knees in weakness and drop her blade in defeat.

The officer growled at the sight of his monster defeated, then proceeded to continue his attacks.

"Tiger Axe on the right, attack... Snake Hair with Tiger Grasp!"

Just like its twin, the humanoid tiger swung its axe against the torso of the Darklands creature.

"Berfomet, attack the Tiger Axe on your right with Plains Dash! Water Girl, attack the same Tiger Axe with Water Tornado!"

Both attacks combined left the tiger-like warrior with only a handful of Life Points left.

"Tiger Axe... on the left, attack... Water Girl with Tiger Grasp!" The opponent was growing weaker after taking shockwaves from the attacks. With a swing of its axe, the spellcaster's Life Points fell further, but she was still ready to fight.

"Snake Hair, attack Tiger Axe on your right with Stone Eyes!" After the powerful beams of energy struck, the beast-warrior fell over backwards, defeated.

"Great job!" Kotsuzuka complimented. "Berfomet, finish the match with Plains Dash!"

Kotsuzuka figured he could at least weaken the remaining monster for the next duel... but much to his surprise, Berfomet's final attack delivered a critical hit and completely defeated the last Tiger Axe.

The soldier stomped on the ground, yelled at his monsters to get up, and marched off angrily with them following weakly.

Shortly after, another soldier came to attack, with two Hitotsu-Me Giants and a Giant Soldier of Stone in his team.

Kotsuzuka was pumped from the adrenaline of victory, and he was prepared to face this enemy. He summoned his monsters without hesitation, and in each match, he defeated one monster each time- giving him victory in three fights.

After Berfomet had delivered the final blow and the soldier had left, Kotsuzuka ran to the group. He high-fived Mokuba and Shizuka, and an extremely confused Marthis tapped his hand against Kotsuzuka.

"No." Seto said when Kotsuzuka ran up to him.

"All right, we're out of here!" Mokuba announced as he, Seto, and Kotsuzuka gathered their monsters and left. Seto took the mantle of leadership as they made their way to Nua-Tua.

Thanks to the flying ability of Ryu-Kishin Powered and Berfomet, Seto and Kotsuzuka approached Nua-Tua much faster than Mokuba did with his walking monsters.

Kotsuzuka arrived first, and Pegasus stepped out on the castle wall as an indication of their battle arena.

"It's judgment time for the imperial forces!"

"I can't believe you're really Pegasus!" the boy marveled. "You're the one who ran Duelist Kingdom? You're the one who beat my boss-"

"Keith is NOT your boss anymore!" shouted Seto's voice through the communicator.

"Hmm, I guess that would mean Bandit Keith Howard." Pegasus mumbled. "A completely immoral duelist, if I ever saw one. It's a good thing you left him. You're better off with Kaiba as a leader than Keith anyday."

"I didn't leave Keith," Kotsuzuka muttered, glancing at his shoes. "_He_ left me."

His mood shifted suddenly, and he glared at Pegasus. "But that's not important right now! Defeating you is what matters now!"

"Fine. Dark Rabbit, Bickuribox, Parrot Dragon! Summon!" Pegasus ordered. The cartoon-like rabbit leapt onto the wall from behind the tower Pegasus stood in front of. Bickuribox also sprung from the arched doorway, bobbing madly. Parrot Dragon flew in from the sky, with a cry that sounded like a mix between a dragon's roar and a parrot's squawk.

"Water Girl, Berfomet, Snake Hair! Summon!"

"I'll go first." Pegasus declared. "Dark Rabbit, attack Water Girl with Spinning Dynamite Punch!"

With a maniacal giggle, the purple rabit sprung forward and bashed a fist against Water Girl's cheek.

"My turn! Berfomet, attack Parrot Dragon with Plain Dash!"

"Then I'll go! Parrot Dragon, attack Water Girl with Hot Tunes!" The green dragon inhaled deeply, before spewing a wave of flames at the spellcaster. She cried out in pain.

"Oh, crap..." Kotsuzuka murmured. "Uh, Water Girl, Guard Position!"

The spellcaster knelt down and crossed her arms over the front of her body.

"Bickuribox, attack Water Girl with Abyss Crown!" Pegasus shouted.

The fiendish creature-in-a-box conjured up a large blue orb and hurled it at Water Girl. The force of the attack knocked her onto her back (Kotsuzuka was even thrown back a bit) and she was forced to stand up again after taking minimal damage (thanks to guarding that round). She appeared quite shaken by the last attack, and with only 112 Life Points left, she appeared ready to collapse any second.

"Snake Hair, use Blue Medicine on Water Girl!"

The Gorgon held her hand above the vial strapped to a sling over her shoulder. She seemed to conjure the blue liquid out of the vial, then floated a small bubble of it over to Water Girl. The medicine washed over some of her burns and bruises and did a decent job of healing them.

Attacks were traded as the match went on. Kotsuzuka had actually managed to lower Parrot Dragon to half of its Life Points, only for it to use a dose of Blue Medicine on itself. Closing its eyes, as if telepathically, a blue bubble of the medicine came forth from the vial and spread over some of the scratches on its body.

When the match was done, Pegasus had defeated Kotsuzuka by over 400 Advantage Points. The boy left the fortress, slightly disappointed to sit outside with his monsters for five minutes while their Action Points were restored.

Now Seto was up to face his former- and current - enemy.

Mirroring Kotsuzuka's strategy, he went after Parrot Dragon. The constant barrage of attacks left it with the need to heal itself twice. Seto won the round by nearly 800 Advantage Points.

Thanks to the victory, his monsters regained their Action Points much more quickly and he was able to attack Pegasus yet again. This time, he had his monsters wait through the attacks and heal themselves when necessary. Then he attacked Parrot Dragon with the attacks he had left. Parrot Dragon was left with 145 Life Points.

Kotsuzuka's five minutes were up soon after and he returned to fight Pegasus yet again. He got to attack first, and Berfomet managed to deliver 163 points of damage to Parrot Dragon on the first attack, defeating it for an early advantage. Kotsuzuka was conservative enough to heal his monsters when necessary, but still started on weakening Bickuribox. When the fight ended, Kotsuzuka had managed to win by over a thousand Advantage Points.

Seto returned to continue fighting Pegasus. Pegasus was careful to protect Bickuribox by using most of its Action Points to guard itself, but occasionally Seto managed to knock it off guard and deliver some extra damage. Seto won this match and left Bickuribox with 288 Life Points left.

Now Kotsuzuka returned to battle.

"Dark Rabbit, attack Water Girl with Spinning Dynamite Punch!" the rabbit leapt forward and punched the spellcaster powerfully across the face. The girl cried out, falling to the castle floor.

"Oh no, it's a critical hit!" Kotsuzuka gasped as he watched Water Girl's Life Points plummet. "Can you get up?"

She looked up at him weakly as she pulled her upper body off the ground with her arms, then lost her strength and collapsed back onto the castle floor.

"Water Girl!" Kotsuzuka gasped. He checked the Life Points display; her life force had fallen to 0. The critical hit had delivered a powerful 525 points of damage.

"... Berfomet! Snake Hair! Attack Bickuribox with Plains Dash and Stone Eyes!"

The swift fiend leapt forward and slashed the box-bound creature for 163 points of damage, but Snake Hair had to steer her attack to the side to avoid hitting her ally monster, missing Bickuribox completely.

By the end of the match, Water Girl and Bickuribox had both been defeated, yet Pegasus was awarded the advantage.

When Seto returned for a fight, it didn't take much to defeat Dark Rabbit. Pegasus fell onto his knee, clearly overwhelmed from all of the fighting he had gone through against Kaiba and Kotsuzuka. Underneath his long silver hair, though, he was smirking. He clicked his communicator on.

"They are stronger than we thought! Retreat!"

Pegasus returned to his feet, beckoned to his monsters, and they left Nua-Tua quickly. Even though Seto hadn't seen Pegasus smirking, he still knew something was up.

He stepped outside the castle to find Mokuba helping to heal Kotsuzuka's tired monsters.

"You beat him? Good job." Kotsuzuka commented to the older Kaiba. "So, what do we do now that the enemy's escaped?"

"Let's just head back to Enno and camp there tonight. Tomorrow, we can head back to Sygh-Varths."

_Nii-sama is acting weird..._ Mokuba thought to himself. _We could definitely return to Sygh-Varths in a day if we wanted to._

However, the younger Kaiba brother ignored these thoughts and followed his older brother and Kotsuzuka back to Enno.

Marthis, of course, was clearly against Kaiba's plan to stay there overnight. He argued that rebels could come and attack them at any time, so Kaiba replied that he would stand watch that night.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Seto threw a few more branches into the large fire pit in front of him. It was close to 11:30, according to a clock installed on the Duel Disk, so he figured everyone was likely asleep.

He watched the flickering orange and red flames crackling and dancing, mesmerized, until a large shadow emerged above the fire. Seto jumped backwards, slightly startled.

The shadow belonged to a tall, muscular man with tattoos plastered over his face, clad in a sleeveless goldenrod tunic with a turquoise collar. He wore what almost appeared to be blue jeans over his legs, and had boots on as well.

"Good evening, my young 'Lord' Kaiba!" greeted a voice from the bushes.

Seto recognized the voice immediately, as...

"Pegasus?"

He brushed a few leaves off of his jacket and stepped forward, to greet Kaiba.

"Yes, it is I, Pegasus J. Crawford. Your rival on the battlefield just some short time ago. I am the ruler of Maryah-Denn, and now, the leader of the resistance. It's an honor to see you again."

Kaiba, however, wasn't so honored to see Pegasus there again. "What brings you here?" Seto asked. "And what was with the fake retreat?"

Pegasus appeared surprised.

"You saw through the decoy?"

Kaiba smirked as he threw another piece of wood onto the fire.

"The real Pegasus would have never retreated."

Pegasus stared at him in surprise for a moment, then laughed. "Very good! Just what I would expect from the leader of the Imperial Guard! You saw right through my phony withdrawal. I am glad you realized it for what it was. I pulled back my forces because as we were fighting, I had a strange feeling that you are different from the Emperor's other staff."

Seto folded his arms and asked, "That's it? A strange feeling?"

Pegasus closed his eyes, amused, and shook his head.

"You cannot fool me, good sir. I am not a patriotic nobleman and leader of the resistance for nothing. I may not know why I felt what I did, but I'm sure I'm right."

He glanced up at Kaiba, a small smirk on his face.

"You have not sworn loyalty to the Emperor."

Kaiba raised his eyebrows in surprise, then turned away.

"Perhaps..." Kaiba's voice trailed off.

"Then again," he turned back to Pegasus, his eyes narrowed. "Maybe I should just call for the guards and have you taken into custody."

Pegasus laughed again.

"Ha hah. No, no. You will not do that. Like I said, I know. Anyway, the reason I've come to see you is because I have a proposition."

"A proposition?" Seto asked.

Pegasus smirked.

"I am inviting you to join the resistance."

"Excuse me?" Kaiba asked. "We were just in the midst of fighting but moments ago! Why ask me to join?"

Pegasus gave him one of his cheerful smiles.

"As the saying goes, 'Yesterday's enemy is today's friend.' I have no problem welcoming you into the resistance. I was once part of the imperial court, but as the Imperial Order's influence grew, so did my dissatisfaction. It takes a blind eye on the people and forces taxes on them to support its own excesses. I joined the resistance to put things right. The Imperial Order is being manipulated by a powerful figure. I fight so that I may learn who is controlling the Imperial Order from the shadows and defeat him."

Seto kept his eyes focused on Pegasus the whole time.

"Kaiba..." he continued, addressing him. "I don't know why you pretend to fight for the Emperor, but... you will reach your goal faster by fighting by my side. I guarantee you that."

"..." Kaiba was silent.

"The resistance will continue to grow," Pegasus continued. "The Emperor's rule is weakening and will soon be nothing but a memory. Join with me. Together, we can-"

To the surprise of Seto, Pegasus, and the muscular man, Marthis's voice interrupted them. "Kaiba? Are you there? What's happening in there, Kaiba?"

"I should go." Pegasus concluded quickly, gesturing for the muscular man to leave. "Give my offer some thought!"

Pegasus and his ally escaped rapidly, just as Marthis came walking over.

"So," Marthis yawned. "What happened?"

Kaiba glared at the Emperor's advisor.

"Nothing. You were hearing things; there was an animal in the bushes."

Marthis sat down beside Kaiba.

"You must be tired by now."

"I'm fine."

"No, really. If you're going to be fighting in this army, you need your strength. Get some sleep. I'll come get you in a few hours so you can take watch again."

Seto finally stood up and went back to the tent Marthis had been sleeping in.

_Good. I guess he didn't see anything._ Seto thought to himself as he removed his white trenchcoat. He fluffed up a pillow lying on a makeshift 'mattress', laid down, and closed his eyes.

Marthis returned to fetch Seto close to 3:00 in the morning. Kaiba finished the shift for the rest of the morning. Shizuka and Mokuba were the first ones to wake up, close to 6:30 when the sun was coming up.

"Morning, nii-sama!" Mokuba greeted cheerfully. Seto glanced over at them and gave a nod in reply.

"You still look tired," Shizuka commented.

"Well, I don't feel tired." Seto replied defensively. "I don't need a lot of sleep."

Mokuba poked Shizuka to get her attention, gesturing for her to lean over. He whispered into her ear, "Sleep or not, my big brother isn't really a morning person."

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

After Marthis and Kotsuzuka had woken up, a simple breakfast of hot tea, apple slices, and toast was handed out.

They continued their trek to Sygh-Varths, and found themselves approaching the Emperor's palace close to 4:00 in the afternoon.

"We made it!" Mokuba shouted. He started to run forward, then remembered the rest of the group and paused.

"No, go ahead," Marthis replied nonchalantly. "In fact, Kotsuzuka and Shizuka, go ahead and get back to the palace too."

Without further bidding, they ran ahead, anxious to return to the gourmet cooking and lavish lifestyle the palace had to offer.

"How about you and I send the monsters back to their stalls, hm?" Marthis asked.

Seto escorted his own monsters and Mokuba's back into their stalls, and Marthis took care of Kotsuzuka's creatures.

"Aren't you going to put your monsters away?" Seto asked.

"Oh, I will," Marthis replied simply. "I just wanted to do some training, since you _never_ let me battle."

Seto frowned. The once helpful advisor had returned to his annoying, whiny state.

"Oh, and by the way, you're being summoned to court." Marthis added.

"No thank you." Seto replied coolly. "I have no interest in jury duty tonight."

He turned his back to Marthis, stepping outside the barn-like building.

The Emperor's advisor narrowed his eyes.

"Club Scissors!"

Zarigun leapt forward and hammered a claw against the back of Seto's head. The Imperial General fell to the ground, unconscious. Marthis strode over to him and used his foot to turn Seto onto his back. Reaching down, he grabbed Seto by the front of his trenchcoat.

"Oh, good. Now I don't have to worry about you retaliating." Marthis commented to Seto's silent form. "Oh, and by the way... you're not going to be in the jury in _this_ trial."

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

**Thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated and encouraged!**


	5. Trial For Error

**bijoukaiba: Ugh, I just realized I forgot to mention Japanese names again. **

**Well, in case you couldn't tell, Bonz is Ghost Kotsuzuka. **

**And Pegasus J. Crawford (he was Pegasus J. Kroitzel in the game oddly enough) is Maximilian J. Pegasus.**

_It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer. - William Blackstone_

**WARNING: Scenes of torture by whipping in this chapter.**

**Chapter 5: Trial For Error**

Mokuba sat on the bed, kicking his heels against the side of it. He stared down at the floor, a troubled expression on his face.

The door opened and Mokuba's head shot up, his worried expression gone.

"Big broth..." his voice trailed off when he saw Kotsuzuka walk in.

"No, it's just me." Kotsuzuka replied with a small smile. It quickly disappeared, however, when he saw Mokuba staring solemnly down at the ground. "... What's wrong?"

He stepped over the cot he slept on- since he was now sharing the room with the Kaiba brothers- and sat down on the bed next to Mokuba.

"It's my brother. I'm worried about him." Mokuba explained.

"Why?" Kotsuzuka asked, a puzzled expression on his face.

"We got back from the mission about twenty or thirty minutes ago," Mokuba explained. "He should have come back to our room by now."

"Well, he was with Marthis, remember?" Kotsuzuka stated. "There's probably some sort of meeting that they were called to."

"Maybe," Mokuba replied. "But I still have this sort of... I dunno..." He paused for a moment.

"... I still have this sort of 'brotherly instinct'..." Mokuba explained, making little quotation marks with his fingers. "... and this 'brotherly instinct' is telling me that something bad has happened to Seto."

Kotsuzuka placed a comforting hand on Mokuba's shoulder.

"Well, I don't have any siblings, so I guess I can't talk about instincts... but if I did have one, I'm sure my instincts would tell me that my brother was okay right now."

Mokuba's eyes shifted, then he glanced up at Kotsuzuka, a small smile on his face.

"If it'll help get your mind off of worrying, you can talk to me a little more. Just... don't worry, okay? I'm sure Kaiba's fine."

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Seto was rudely awakened by being slammed against something cold and hard. He opened an eye and found himself on the ground, on a cold cobblestone floor. He instinctively tried to move his arms to pick himself up, but couldn't- his wrists seemed to be tied together, behind his back. He could also feel a rough, itchy fabric- possibly cheap burlap or very raw wool- covering his skin. Now, opening both his eyes, he could see that he appeared to be dressed in some sort of raggedy tunic.

Like dressings fit for a traitor. The clothes of a criminal - the common prisoner's garb.

Seto glanced up in front of him, seeing a tall throne before him, apparently acting like a judge's chair. He moved his eyes up until he finally caught sight of the judge before him.

"What's the meaning of this, Haysheen?" Kaiba asked, awkwardly curling and tilting his body to pull himself onto his knees.

"Hmph," Haysheen sneered. "_I won't have to deal with you much longer._"

He returned the glare.

"Explain yourself," Kaiba stated.

Haysheen stood up and addressed the people in the courtroom.

"The court shall now hear the case against Kaiba for disobeying military orders - "

"WHAT?" Seto shouted in protest.

"I do not like to be interrupted,_"_ Haysheen snarled. "_Silence him!_"

Seto's eyes widened at the sound of a crack behind him. The merciless equivalent of a bailiff walked up to Seto from behind, brandishing a whip in his hand. He undid a few knots on the back of Seto's burlap garb, exposing his bare back. The brutish man took a step back, pulled his arm back, and savagely whipped it forward, the end of the whip connecting with the brunet's back. Seto clenched his teeth as the whip struck him again. The bailiff whipped him a third, fourth, and then a fifth time until Seto finally cried out. He was almost certain he could feel blood starting to run down his back. The bailiff did not relent, however, and struck him several more times.

The sound of Seto in pain, as well as the cruel laughter of the jury, was loud enough to be faintly heard outside the courtroom in the palace. Shizuka had been passing by the courtroom towards a storage room for medical supplies at the end of the hall, when she froze at the sound of a shout and slowly opened the door by a crack. She peered inside, and spotted Seto on the floor, clearly in agonizing pain, as well as a man behind him, whipping his back. Although horrified, Shizuka couldn't tear herself away and continued to peer into the unjust trial.

The Emperor finally raised a hand, gesturing for the bailiff to cease. He coiled his whip and tied the knots on the back of Kaiba's makeshift tunic once again. The burlap abrading against his now raw, bleeding skin did not make things any less painful.

"Speak out again, and it will be your front side next," Haysheen finished. "Stand up, Kaiba."

"Arrgh..." Kaiba grunted, shifting his knees underneath him to return to stand. Now that he could stand, he could see the jury around him consisted of the head officers and generals of the Imperial Army. There was Secmayton, head of the Imperial Navy... Sebeckal and Necubetos, two generals typically found patrolling the northern coast of Rondeval... Etos and Nephal, two high-ranked officers that often stuck to the mainland or Vaxi Island... and the pudgy Kepulia with his odd chin piercing that resembled a smooth golden stalactite. And of course, there was "good ol' Marthis", glaring at Kaiba from the other side of the courtroom.

"The court shall now hear testimony from Marthis, Governor of Military Affairs for the Imperial Army." Haysheen declared, addressing the jury.

Marthis sauntered past Kaiba, throwing his head high with a "Hmmph!" of supposed dignity as he flounced past.

"Explain Kaiba's crimes to the court, Marthis." Haysheen ordered.

His trusted advisor bowed deeply before the Emperor and replied, "As you wish, your Highness."

Resuming his poised stance, he turned to face the jury to make his accusation.

"Although Lord Kaiba was given charge of our army and asked to protect our _great_ Emperor, I witnessed Kaiba having a secret discussion with a rebel at the battle of Enno. His actions violate Article 15, Paragraph 2 of the Imperial Military Regulations."

Seto narrowed his eyes. _Thanks a lot, Pegasus._

"The regulation also calls for the execution of any person convicted of subverting the rule of our _great_ Emperor." Marthis added. He glanced over and spotted Kaiba staring at him in realization. A small smirk was curved over Marthis's lips underneath his mask. He turned his attention away from Seto and back to the jury.

"I ask for a severe punishment in strict accordance with the law!" Marthis cried out to the court, swinging his arm out for emphasis.

Shizuka could hear her own heart pounding after Marthis's outburst.

"There you go, Kaiba." Haysheen concluded. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Hmph... what a farce! This is so stupid." Seto grumbled. "I don't even feel like addressing the charges."

Haysheen glared at Kaiba.

"And I'm sick of your insolence as well. The fact that you do well on the battlefield seems to have gone to your head."

Seto turned his glare away from Haysheen and back at Marthis.

"So, Marthis, you were just looking for dirt on orders from Haysheen, is that it? But you needed a legal excuse to get rid of me." Seto laughed. "Hahaha! That's exactly why I knew you'd be worthless on the battlefield! What a perfect role for a wretch like you. Haysheen knew he could never leave the army in your incompetent hands. He may be an old bag of bones, but he certainly found the perfect role for you! Hahahaha!"

The jury stared at Marthis, wondering how the advisor was going to react.

"You're the traitor! You never even won on the battlefield! The whole thing was just a setup!" Marthis retaliated, standing up taller.

"Only someone who sleeps with the Emperor would come up with a story like that," Seto retorted coolly with a smirk.

The whole courtroom was filled with the insulting sound of "Ooooooh!" Haysheen's face was bright red from humiliated rage, and Marthis was seething underneath his mask.

"Order, order! Both of you, be quiet! This is still my courtroom!" Haysheen snapped. "Kaiba, I shall now pass judgement."

He glanced from Marthis to Seto, before making his declaration.

"Kaiba shall be stripped of his rank as Imperial General... and executed tomorrow at noon."

_Executed?_

Shizuka had heard enough. She ran off immediately, unable to watch Kaiba's trial anymore.

"Your execution will be public. It will be a good reminder. That is all." Haysheen confirmed. "Any last words, Kaiba?"

"Nope," Seto replied. "Other than to say I'd like to cut open your skull and see just how much brain matter you're missing."

"Grrr..." Haysheen growled. "At least I won't have to put up with your insolence much longer."

"Hmph. Don't get too happy. The excitement might be too much for your old heart," Seto shot back. "I'm sure a heart attack would be painful... even if you are just a computer program."

The members of the jury glanced at each other in confusion at the mention of the foreign words 'computer program'.

"Take him away!" Haysheen ordered.

Two large, muscular guards stepped forward, each one grabbing Kaiba by one of his shoulders to drag him away. As he was leaving the courtroom, Kaiba gave a powerful yet chilling laugh.

"Court dismissed!" Haysheen declared.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

"My favorite food is chocolate parfait," Mokuba said with a grin. "And you?"

"Cupcakes, without a doubt." Kotsuzuka replied with a laugh.

At that moment, the door suddenly burst open. Shizuka stood there in the doorway, panting, tears in her eyes.

"Shizuka?" Mokuba asked.

"Shizuka, what's wrong?" Kotsuzuka asked.

"It's... Kaiba..." she gasped, practically slamming the door behind her. "... Haysheen... said... they're going to... kill him!"

"What?" Mokuba gasped, fear in his eyes. "We have to warn Seto!"

"No, it's too late..." Shizuka replied, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "He was on trial... he's been sentenced to death. They're probably going to keep him locked up until tomorrow..."

"No... no!" Mokuba clenched his fists. "They can't do this to my big brother! They can't! And what will happen to us? Are they going to kill us too?"

"No!" Kotsuzuka declared, standing up. "You and Seto saved my life, now I'm going to save his."

Mokuba and Shizuka looked at him.

"Do you really think you can...?" Mokuba asked.

"Well, we have to at least try, don't we?"

"But we can't just break him out of prison..." Shizuka replied. "We'd get in so much trouble...!"

"That's why we're going to run away. We have to leave." Kotsuzuka explained. "Even if Seto escapes on his own, he knows that we can't stay here."

He stood up and paced around the room.

"There's a few things we have to take into account, but I'm starting to get an idea as to how to get him out of there," Kotsuzuka commented.

"Do you really think it can work?" Mokuba asked.

Kotsuzuka nodded.

"If we work together, I'm sure it will. Nobody is going to die. Not you, not me, not Shizuka, and definitely not Seto. I promise, Mokuba."

The younger Kaiba brother gazed at Kotsuzuka in admiration, then smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Now then... here's my plan..."

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

**bijoukaiba: I don't know if these are questions that have been on your mind, but I think I should address two things before questions start popping up in my reviews. **

**First, I think I should mention is that this story is set between the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix and the Egyptian story arc. **

**Second, if you're wondering about why Kotsuzuka is still walking around considering what happened in Battle City... well... I really hate to give spoilers, but... **

**I hate to take what sounds like the 4Kids route, but Kotsuzuka, Satake (Zygor - buff guy), and Takaido (Sid - "that guy with the glasses") weren't killed by Bakura in their battle in my "head-canon". **

**Although he, Satake, and Takaido were sent to a place of 'suffering' (I refuse to use the term "Shadow Realm"), they were released after (Yami) Yuugi defeated Bakura in the Battle City tournament. If you want to know what happened after he was released... you'll have to wait for that. It ties in with the plot. (wink)**

**Thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated and encouraged!**


	6. Escape

_Whoever destroys a single life is as guilty as though he had destroyed the entire world; and whoever rescues a single life earns as much merit as though he had rescued the entire world. - The Talmud_

**Chapter 6: Escape**

Out in the bountiful gardens behind Haysheen's palace, two boys could be seen stooped over a blooming lily bush. Kotsuzuka and Mokuba were not admiring the lovely flowers; rather, they had been gathering dirt in their hands. Kotsuzuka rubbed it between his fingertips and smeared it underneath his eyes. Mokuba glanced down at his soot-colored hands, then repeated the other boy's actions.

Mokuba lowered his hands after a moment, glancing back up at Kotsuzuka.

"... There! How do I look?"

Kotsuzuka nodded with a smile.

"... Good. They really look like dark circles underneath your eyes. The corners look slightly smudged, but there's no point in bothering with that now."

He and Mokuba stood up. Mokuba was about to wipe his hands off on his pants, but Kotsuzuka quickly stopped him.

"No, don't do that. If they see the dirt on your clothes, they might be skeptical."

"Ohhh... gotcha."

Kotsuzuka glanced over at the fountain in the center of the garden.

"We can wash off there. After that, be sure to act sluggish. You know... move slowly, yawn a lot, pretend to nod off..."

"Yeah, I get it already!" Mokuba replied, annoyed. Kotsuzuka looked at him in confusion, especially when Mokuba started laughing. "We could be cranky too, y'know."

Kotsuzuka laughed and agreed, walking with him to the fountain. They swirled their hands around in the water, then walked slowly to the entrance of the palace, already trying to act in character.

They walked down the hallway, turned left, and followed the path to the second door on the right. Mokuba knocked loudly at the door.

"Doctor? Doctor! Yo, doctor!"

An irritated shout came from behind the wooden door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Sheesh, such impatient customers! If they didn't pay me, I swear I'd..." the doctor's speech was cut down to mumbling behind the door. Mokuba and Kotsuzuka wrapped an arm over each other's shoulders to look like they were trying to support each other.

The doctor opened the door and took a step backwards at the sight of the boys, slouched over with darkness marking their faces.

"Good gracious! What happened to you?"

Mokuba's eyes were shut, but he shook his head and opened his eyes again.

"Whuzzat? Oh, hi sir," he yawned loudly and exaggeratedly for extra effect. "My friend and I haven't gotten a wink of sleep the past few nights, and it's really... really affecting our condition."

"I'll say," the doctor commented, placing a finger underneath Kotsuzuka's chin and lifting his head. "This one's face has completely sunk in!"

"Yeah, I've always had sleeping plobrems... broplems... problems... problems sleeping..." Kotsuzuka replied, nodding off.

"Here, sit down in the hallway. Right there," the doctor pointed to a spot on the floor, then shuffled back into his office. Mokuba and Kotsuzuka exchanged a grin, before resuming their 'sleepy' states when the doctor returned. "Here we go... this is a sleeping draught."

"Ohhh... thank you..." Mokuba mumbled with a sigh of relief, taking the bottle into his hands.

"I wish I could do more..." the doctor replied. "But at least this is the strongest sleeping draught I have... and the largest bottle of it too."

"You're too kind," Kotsuzuka yawned with a weak smile.

"Maybe I should take you up to your rooms and administer the medicine there," the doctor suggested.

"Uhhh, no! I mean... it's very kind of you... but I think my friend and I... can make it back on our own," Mokuba replied groggily.

"And as for payment..." Kotsuzuka added, "... put it on Marthis's tab."

"I'll make note of that. I hope you sleep well tonight, boys." the doctor stated, then returned to his office and closed the door behind him.

Mokuba and Kotsuzuka followed the hallway at a normal speed, until they stopped outside the room they stayed in. Once there, they exchanged a high-five.

"It worked! He fell for it!" Kotsuzuka laughed.

"This was a great idea, Kotsuzuka! And I hadn't considered paying for the medicine... that was also a good idea!"

Shizuka opened the door to the room and stepped out in the hallway upon hearing the boys, carrying a small bag slung over her shoulder like a purse.

"You got it?" she asked with a smile.

"We got it!" Mokuba and Kotsuzuka cheered in unison.

"All right," Shizuka replied, taking the bottle from them and stuffing it into the bag. "I'm going to head down to the mess hall now."

"Right," Kotsuzuka replied, starting to wipe the dirt from underneath his eyes. "We'll go get the monsters ready."

"Okay," Shizuka said with a nod. "Good luck!"

"You too," Mokuba replied.

The boys continued further down the hallway, and Shizuka took the path the boys had returned from. She took a few different turns than they had, and found herself in the mess hall where the soldiers commonly ate. She made her way around the food line and back into the kitchen. Lucky for Shizuka, there were no cooks in the room. Over in the corner, she spotted a stone stove with a boiling pot on top of it. Cautiously, Shizuka opened the lid and peered inside. Soup! She fumbled in the bag and yanked out the bottle. She ripped out the cork and tipped the bottle over, pouring the draught into the meal for the night. She quickly replaced the lid and shoved the bottle back into the bag and turned to walk off...

"Hey, you!"

The chef had spotted her!

"What are you doing here?"

She turned around to face him. He was plump and was dressed in a white tunic with long sleeves with a white apron. Sweat, food, and grease stains added to the 'charm' of his uniform. Shizuka panicked briefly, but remembered what Kotsuzuka told her to do if this situation arose.

Politely, Shizuka made a small bow to him. "Good evening, sir. I was called down here to help serve meals to the soldiers tonight."

"Oh really?" asked the chef. His tone made him sound skeptical, but it was made clear he was willing to have help. "All right. Dinner is served in ten minutes anyway."

"Just made it!" Shizuka joked.

The chef rolled his eyes and resumed stirring the soup.

Shizuka stood in the corner with her hands clasped together, tapping her thumbs together. To an onlooker, she would have appeared calm or even bored. In reality, her heart was racing and could feel the tapping of her thumbs pulsing throughout her nervous body.

After an eternity, she could hear faint chatter growing louder in the hallway, and she realized that these were the soldiers coming to dinner. She dashed over to the cook's side as he began ladeling soup into ceramic bowls. She grabbed two and he grabbed two to serve just as the soldiers started sitting down. The cook served at the front of the room, whereas Shizuka made her way to the very back. As she passed by the soldiers, she tried to overhear their conversations.

"Bah, I just spent the day sitting outside the throne room-"

"I escorted a tax collector-"

"I killed three people-"

"I stopped a female rebel in my own_ special _way-"

Some conversations clearly weren't comfortable for listening. Shizuka placed the bowls of soup in front of two soldiers, then traced her way back to the front of the room.

She grabbed more soup and headed for the back of the room, this time along a different path.

"I trained some of the new soldiers-"

"I'm getting promoted-"

"Consider yourself lucky. I've still got prison duty!-"

Shizuka froze when she heard the words 'prison'. She glanced over her shoulder and spotted the man who had mentioned it. She placed the bowls at the table directly behind him, but moved slowly to concentrate on what he had to say.

"Yeah, I've gotta do the night shift. Apparently there's this Imperial General convicted of treachery that's getting executed tomorrow."

Shizuka straightened up quickly and returned for more soup. She brought more bowls back to the table beside the one of the special guard.

"See, they've even figured out what to do with the traitor's pals. His girlfriend's got kitchen duty."

Shizuka blushed but ignored the comment, returning to collect more soup bowls.

After about fifteen minutes, all the soldiers had a bowl of soup in front of them.

"Good job helping me," the cook stated, then gestured at the pot. "You want some of it?"

"Unfortunately I can't," Shizuka replied, placing a hand to her stomach. "I've always had problems with consuming soup. It makes me feel quite ill."

"Too bad, but more for me." the chef replied. "It's my special recipe."

He ladeled the remains into a bowl and- rather than grab a spoon- he placed the rim of the bowl to his lips and slurped it down noisily, soup running down his chin and further staining his clothes. Shizuka looked away in disgust. The chef grinned and poured himself another bowl.

Shizuka waited for ten minutes, until she heard the clatter of a bowl shattering beside her. The chef had slumped to the floor and sat there in slumber. She turned and saw all the soldiers passed out at their tables.

Using her memory, Shizuka made her way over to the prison guard and spotted the keys on his belt. She carefully removed them and tucked them into her pocket. She ran from the mess hall, heading for the prison chambers.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

The prison was a dark chamber, almost completely devoid of light, save for a few candles that provided light along various intervals of the passageway leading down there.

Within one cell, Seto Kaiba was chained to the wall with his hands above his head, still clad in his prisoner's garb. Across the cell from him, he faced a barren white skeleton with torn rags clothing it. The floor was dusty and coated with hay, and it smelled strongly like death and urine. He had to breathe through his mouth to resist the urge to gag.

Was this really the end? Would this skeleton, his fellow prisoner, be the last person he ever saw? Would he really die here?

"Psst! Seto! Over here..." Mokuba whispered.

"Mokuba! You're here..." his older brother gasped, relieved to hear a familiar voice. He soon shifted into a familiar serious state, with worry for his little brother. "Get out of here! If the guards find you here, they'll give you tenfold of what I went through!"

He heard his brother laughing outside the cell.

"You mean, if the guards _are awake_. We've got a way out past the guards, thanks to a little sleeping medicine in their soup tonight."

"Is everything ready?"

"Yep. Kotsuzuka said he wants to come with us."

The sound of the door unlocking caught Kaiba's attention.

"Oh yeah, and Shizuka too."

She walked down the steps into the cell, carrying his regular clothes draped over her arm and his Duel Disk in another hand. She went over and unlocked the chains binding him to the wall. Seto clutched his wrists in relief, moving them freely for the first time in hours.

"Here," Shizuka offered him his clothes. "Change in the cell. We'll wait outside."

She left the cell and stood outside with Mokuba for a minute, then the newly clad Seto stepped out. Just like his clothes, his confident attitude had returned as well.

"Our escape from Sygh-Varths is all set!" Mokuba exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air.

"Good." Seto stated. "Let's get going, then." he ran up the passageway with Mokuba and Shizuka following closely.

Outside, they noticed for the first time how dark it was that night. But in the moonlight, a beacon of light shone through in the form of Kotsuzuka waiting with their monsters.

"All right, I've got almost all of them. I'm leaving Phantom Dewan, Saggi, Zarigun, and Dark Plant behind." Kotsuzuka explained.

"Good idea," Seto replied.

"Here, Mokuba, you ride Ryu-Kishin Powered out. You're small enough for it to support you. I'll ride Midnight Fiend, and Seto and Shizuka can ride on Berfomet."

Without disputing arrangements, they all climbed onto their monsters. It was better to just leave now than waste time arguing anyway.

"All right. Let's get out of here!" Seto ordered.

The flying monsters flapped their wings with powerful swooshes, departing the ground and taking to the skies. The walking monsters broke a hole through the wall to escape on their own. They kept an eye on the flying monsters to follow their path. The three aerial monsters flew close together, side-by-side, with Berfomet on the left, Ryu-Kishin Powered in the middle, and Midnight Fiend on the right. They flew in silence for several minutes, not wanting to risk being heard even though they had left Sygh-Varths and were heading northeast.

"Mokuba," Seto finally said. "Thank you for saving me."

Mokuba glanced over at his big brother in surprise, but shook his head with a smile.

"Thanks... but I'm not the one who deserves credit. Kotsuzuka is the one who put together this whole plan! And it worked great!"

Seto turned his head to look over at Kotsuzuka. He turned to look at Kaiba, opened his mouth briefly as if he were to say something, then closed his mouth and turned forward again.

"Shizuka also really helped a lot too," Mokuba added. "She probably deserves the most credit of all. She overheard what happened to you at that trial, so she told us... and then we came to rescue you!"

Seto and Shizuka did not face each other, nor did they say anything. Seto glanced down and checked the clock on the Duel Disk. It was half past twelve at night.

"Mokuba, it's late. You should try to sleep."

"Aww! But Seto!"

"Just listen to him," Kotsuzuka commented, stretching out on his stomach on Midnight Fiend's back. "We'll need our strength in the morning."

Mokuba stretched out on his side, facing Kotsuzuka, then curled into a small ball.

Shizuka glanced over at the two boys, watching them silently as they slept.

"You should get some rest too," Seto stated in a low voice.

Shizuka turned around at the older brother, but he still wouldn't look at her.

"I guess..." she replied softly. "But..."

At last, Seto finally turned to face her.

"Well..." she stated timidly. "I saw you... getting hurt at the trial... and I have some bandages and medicine with me... so I was wondering... if you'd let me take a look at your injuries...?"

Her face flushed red after finishing her offer, but at least he couldn't see her blush in the darkness of the night.

_Why am I so shy around him?_ Shizuka wondered.

"What did you see?" he asked coldly.

"Most of the trial... from the point where you were being... being... whipped," she composed herself. "Up until the Emperor character said that you were going to be executed. That was when I went to tell Mokuba and Kotsuzuka."

"Hmph."

"Mister Kaiba..." she addressed him formally. "I just... I just want to try to offer some help. If your injuries became infected, I don't think there would be any access to antibiotics in this world... you could become really sick... think about how worried your little brother would be! But if I could clean your injuries and bandage them... it would probably help them heal much faster and you'd stay in better health overall."

Seto did not say anything to her, nor did he make any gestures to give her a reply. He sat there, with his eyes fixed on her, still as a statue. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, wondering what he might say to her, or what he might do.

Then finally, Seto moved... he slipped his white jacket off of his arms.

He paused before removing his black leather shirt.

"If you're going to look at my injuries, you have to promise - no, _swear_ - something to me," Seto stated.

"I..." Shizuka decided not to argue. "Okay."

"You have to _swear_ not to tell anyone what you did here tonight, nor tell anyone what you saw. Not the ghost kid with us, and especially... _especially..._ not Mokuba. In all honesty, I shouldn't even be showing you this."

"I promise... I _swear_... not to tell anyone. Not even Mokuba."

Seto kept his eyes locked on Shizuka's for a few moments longer, before he finally slipped the black leather shirt off over his head.

Although he did have a very slender build, he wasn't bony underneath his clothes; in fact, he seemed to have some muscles that were fairly well toned in his chest and upper arms, and his stomach was smooth and flat. He shifted his position to turn his back to her, where his real injuries were. Shizuka gasped softly at the sight of five brutal lash marks that were now starting to close over on his back. There were traces of blood stains on his skin below each of the lashings. Not only that... but by the looks of things, there were multiple scars all over his back... almost as if he had endured previous beatings similar to this one... was this what Kaiba didn't want her telling Mokuba about?

She reached into her bag and pulled out a cloth pad, then dabbed it with water from the canteen she kept with her. She gently placed it against his skin, wiping away the stains on his back. Thinking the wounds might have been giving him burning pain, she also washed the lash marks as well.

Shizuka refolded the pad to a dry side, then pulled out a small bottle of medicine, dabbing the cloth against the open mouth of the container.

"This medicine should help clean up your wounds," Shizuka commented as she put the bottle away, even though Seto couldn't see her. "It will help prevent infections, but it might sting a little."

She gently placed the damp cloth against the uppermost wound. Seto's shoulders stiffened briefly, but he relaxed them again.

The night around her was uncomfortably quiet. It was a bit of a gamble - and probably a foolish one at that - but Shizuka decided to go for it.

She was going to try to start a conversation with Seto Kaiba.

"I learned a little bit about medicine when I was at the hospital for my eye operation. I was curious and I would always ask more questions. I became interested in the subject during my time there, and I decided that I wanted to become a nurse or doctor after I graduate college."

Even if he didn't speak to her, at least the sound of her own voice was helping keep her calm in the quiet darkness surrounding them. She moved to the second wound on his back.

"After Miss Kujaku was injured in your tournament, I stayed with her in her room to watch over her. After she was treated, I talked with a lot of the doctors. They began to teach me about basic medicine, like first aid."

Seto felt her pull the cloth away from his back.

"Then... in the second round of the tournament... when my brother was hurt... I also stayed with him. Before the doctors came to help him, I checked to make sure he was breathing and his heart was still beating. In his room, they also let me help take care of him. Simple things. Like... dressing small wounds."

She placed the cloth back and wiped it slowly across the third wound. She moved on to the fourth and fifth wound, not saying anything. She disposed of the cloth (by throwing it off the back of Berfomet), then removed a roll of bandages. She placed them over his first wound, then his second wound...

"When I was really young, I wanted to be a doctor too..." Seto spoke in a very soft voice, barely audible above a whisper. She looked up at him from behind. He raised his volume slightly. "... but then things changed in my life, and now I am where I am, as the CEO of Kaiba Corporation."

She didn't want to ask how 'things had changed', seeing as they were probably very personal, based on his tone. A tiny little part of her wondered if it had something to do with those other scars on his back. She looked down and finished bandaging his three other wounds.

"There..." Shizuka remarked, sitting back as though she were admiring artwork she had created herself. "... I'm done."

She placed the bandages back in the bag and pulled out the same bottle of medicine, using it to wash her hands. Seto pulled his clothes back on.

"Rest is also a very powerful medicine... you should try and get some sleep too." Shizuka suggested.

He glared at her, then turned his back to her and lay down on his side. Shizuka also lay down with her back turned to him.

"Good night," she whispered.

Seto didn't reply.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

The next morning in Sygh-Varths, Marthis awakened in a cheerful mood. He picked up his breakfast in the mess hall, completely ignoring the groggy soldiers in the room. There seemed to be a little extra spring in his step, as he practically pranced down the hallway. He opened the door to the Emperor's room to join Haysheen for breakfast, bowing with a grin underneath his mask.

"Good morning, Marthis," Haysheen greeted, surprised at Marthis's cheery attitude. "How are you?"

"Superb! I just can't wait for the events today!" Marthis scooped up some of the grits in his bowl and spooned them into his mouth, swallowed, and spoke again. "And after today, I suppose we can deal with more of the rebels in Sygh-Varths. There's a handful of them that have really been getting on my nerves..."

Suddenly, a guard came crashing in through the door.

"Your Highness! Lord Marthis!" he shouted, addressing Haysheen and his advisor.

"What is it?" Haysheen snapped. "I don't like being disturbed!"

"I need to speak with Marthis, your Highness! This is important!"

Marthis glanced over at the Emperor.

"Forgive me," he apologized, then followed the guard out into the hallway.

Haysheen sat there alone calmly, patiently waiting for Marthis to return. It was no big deal, there was probably just a minor complication with the guillotine, or maybe they were discussing how to prepare Kaiba for the execution, or maybe even -

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?" Marthis screamed from the hallway.

The advisor marched back into the room.

"Marthis, is something - "

"YES, SOMETHING'S WRONG!" Marthis shouted, uncharacteristically interrupting the Emperor rudely. "IT'S KAIBA, SIR! HE'S ESCAPED!"

"He _what?_" Haysheen exclaimed.

"And not just him!" Marthis added, lowering his voice a little despite his rage. "His little brother, the wench, and the boy we spared are all gone too! THEY BROKE HIM FREE AND RAN AWAY!"

"We don't know where they are, and they've turned their backs and betrayed us," Haysheen groaned. "Now my life, my role as Emperor, is in danger!"

"If it's any consolation, sir, a dragon on our team found a piece of cloth with Kaiba's scent on it and we're tracking them now, close to the Uruvie Canyon." the officer reported.

Marthis turned to him.

"I want you to go find some stronger monsters for me, and I want you to send two officers and three soldiers out to Uruvie Canyon to wait for me there. Head out at full speed!"

"Yes sir!" the soldier replied, turning to leave the room. "And if we find them before we get there...?"

Marthis narrowed his eyes.

"_Take no prisoners. Kill them all immediately!_"

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated and encouraged!**


	7. Framed

_Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter. - Ernest Hemingway_

**Chapter 7: Framed**

Marthis angrily draped his cloak around his shoulders and stormed outside. The sun still had yet to completely rise outside, so the sky was tinted in a purple tone.

He spotted a marshal approaching with a spellcaster and two darklands type monsters with him.

"Sir Marthis, I found-"

"They'll do." Marthis interrupted abruptly.

He gestured for the creatures to follow him, then dashed off to the stables. Marthis selected the finest horse the Emperor had to offer- it was his, after all- and mounted it. It was a majestic mare, colored from head to hooves in a color that could not be distinguished as red or brown, with impressive size. For such a beautiful creature, it was both majestic and terrifying at the same time.

"You three, follow me. And keep up!" Marthis ordered his monsters.

He adjusted the reins in his hands and tapped his heels against the sides of his horse.

"Hellfire, let's go! Hyaah!"

He whipped the reins and gave the horse a more powerful kick. The horse reared powerfully, before taking off at a thundering gallop. The cool air of the morning whistled against Marthis's mask and stung his bare knuckles as he clenched the leather straps in his hands.

_Those fiends... what wicked plans could Kaiba and his party be plotting?_

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

As a matter of fact, Kaiba and his team were plotting... absolutely nothing.

The pink hues of the sky as the sun rose created a rather peaceful atmosphere, over the rugged mountains and the lush green valley that divided them. Three fortresses were scattered within the valley- the western and eastern ones were built as more permanent structures, as a small city and a castle, rather than the central wooden fort.

At this fort, several monsters were taking refuge, resting from a weary night of travel. Among the monsters scattered in the grass, there were three flying monsters resting peacefully. With them were four humans, their masters- known as marshals within this world.

Seto Kaiba stirred momentarily in his sleep, slowly beginning to float back into consciousness. He slowly awakened from the entrancing sleep that had so often eluded him. Bristly fur rustled against his cheek as he slowly regained his senses. Seto shook his head, realizing his face was pressed against the back of Berfomet. There was pain in his back, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been that night. He propped himself up with one arm, glancing behind him. Shizuka's back was turned to him, and she was breathing softly at a fairly slow rate- a sign she was still asleep.

Kaiba rolled onto his stomach and crawled backwards to find a spot to crawl off the creature- careful to mind its wings. He curved his body at an angle and slid down on his stomach. He caught his balance as his feet hit the grass, brushing off the loose fur that had accumulated on his leather clothes. A few paces away, Midnight Fiend and Ryu-Kishin Powered were resting on their undersides as well. Mokuba was resting on his back on top of Ryu-Kishin Powered; Kotsuzuka was resting on his side, facing away from Kaiba on the back of his monster.

_Good, everyone made it through. I was concerned someone might have fallen off overnight._

Seto glanced down at his Duel Disk's digital display, waiting for a readout of the surroundings to load. With a little beep, the map finally showed up- they were in the Uruvie Canyon, and had taken refuge at Beyzon. The time was apparently 8:55 in the morning.

A loud groaning caught Seto by surprise, and he turned around suddenly. It was merely Kotsuzuka, stretching out as he woke up. As though his motions had triggered a chain reaction, Mokuba and Shizuka were now awakening as well. Spotting Kaiba, they climbed off the monsters to approach him.

"Ohhh-h-h, nii-sama..." Mokuba moaned, stretching his arms. "That was a rough night..."

"Like we really had much of a choice," Kotsuzuka replied, flexing his neck. "Kaiba would've been killed, and there's no telling what would've happened to the rest of us if we hadn't left."

"Your plan really did work, Kotsuzuka." Shizuka complimented, as she brushed Berfomet's hair off of her clothes. The younger boy gave her a grateful smile.

"The only question is, how do we get out now?" Mokuba asked his older brother. "The story of the game said we had to fight for the Emperor, and now we're trying to escape from him! I don't think we'll make a lot of progress that way."

"And I still need to find my brother and his friends," Shizuka sighed. "I wonder if everyone's okay..."

"We'll figure that out later! We have no idea what to do, or who else is still here," Seto spoke up, increasing his volume. "First we need to decide _where_ to go, and once we get there, we can look for advice from the people."

"Not to mention, look for some food," Kotsuzuka commented, clasping a hand to his gurgling stomach. "My plan was perfect, except we didn't think to bring food... then again, we didn't really get a chance to pack any..."

Seto glared at him as a sign to stop talking, then glanced down at his Duel Disk, holding it out for the team to see. "There are two fortresses near here where we might be able to find some help. We're the green spot here, on the map, and... hmm... that's weird..."

"What? What's wrong?" Mokuba asked, scanning the map for any signs of trouble.

"These two icons were yellow before, but now they've turned red..." Seto observed.

"Well, let's see... green must mean our team, like the good guys," Kotsuzuka deduced. "These dots must keep track of where marshals are. So if green means 'good', then red must mean-"

"_Kaiba, you traitor!_" snarled a voice on the communicator.

Kaiba groaned. _Oh, great..._

He clicked over to the option to show marshals actually on the field- he, Mokuba, Kotsuzuka, and Shizuka were pictured with the green base. One red base - Craw Valley - showed an officer residing there; the other red base - Vrauson - held an officer, three soldiers, and...

"You are completely surrounded." Marthis declared. "If you give up now, I may spare your life!"

Seto glared at his Duel Disk, as if he were glaring right back at Marthis himself.

"Hmph! As if I would ever believe that promise from you. The answer is no. I will never give in!" he shot back.

"Stop acting so tough! We have you vastly outnumbered! Do you really think you stand a chance?" Marthis exclaimed. "You are too arrogant for your own good! That's what I hate most about you, Kaiba! You have no respect for the Emperor's authority and rule!"

"You're right. I have no respect for that old sack of bones." Seto replied, smirking. "Why don't you shut up and attack already? I'm looking forward to yanking out that tongue of yours!"

"You asked for it!" Marthis fumed. He set his communicator to address every marshal in the region. "Attack! I'll reward the man that captures Kaiba whatever he wants!"

It didn't take long for the officer and three soldiers staying at Vrauson to come marching towards their base at Beyzon.

"Go get your monsters!" Seto commanded.

Kotsuzuka hustled over to shake Berfomet awake, then ran off to search for Water Girl and The Snake Hair. Mokuba followed him, searching for Hitotsu-Me Giant, Three-Headed Geedo, and Dark King of the Abyss.

Seto dashed over to Ryu-Kishin Powered, shaking it awake.

"Should we try to build a cannon?" Shizuka asked.

"There's no time, and we don't have the supplies!" Seto replied. "Damn it! I wish we had a good constructor here!"

"I wish we had a good cook, too..." she sighed. He glared at her.

Mokuba and Kotsuzuka came running back, along with their were their monsters and Seto's as well.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Kotsuzuka asked, catching his breath.

"It's six against three. We have to conserve our strength as much as possible. That officer at Craw Valley didn't come attacking for a reason; he might be asking for more help. We've got bigger issues heading our way, though. We have to take out the marshals heading for us. Mokuba, that'll be your job."

"Okay, nii-sama."

"Kotsuzuka, you'll fight the officer at Craw-Valley."

"Got it," he replied, turning to his monsters.

"Don't go just yet," Kaiba warned. "Remember, these four soldiers are our biggest concern for now. If Mokuba can't finish them all off, you'll be responsible for doing it."

Kotsuzuka nodded as a sign of understanding.

"As for me... I'll take out Marthis. I'm sick of him, and I want to eliminate him once and for all. Once he's out of the way, I can help you fight the officer at Craw-Valley if you need it. You'd better _not _need it, though."

The roaring of a dragon caught Seto's attention.

"Mokuba, go! They're here!"

The younger of the Kaiba brothers whistled for his monsters and ran through the wooden gateway with them. The ground beneath his sneakers was cracked and sandy, a sign the region had lacked a good rainfall for a while, but what caught his attention was the marshal ahead of him on the road.

Armored Lizard was one of his monsters, just like his older brother's. He also had a large, green dragon with small wings and yellowed horns and claws. Its neck appeared rather flexible, as it kept swinging from side to side. This one was known as the Blackland Fire Dragon. His third monster was a much smaller dragon colored like the sandy ground, and much cuter as well, with large eyes and smaller features. This one had wings able to actually support its weight, and it floated in the air. True to its small size, this was indeed a Baby Dragon.

"Hmph. You should never send a boy to do a man's job," the officer mocked.

"I agree," Mokuba taunted. "All right! Three-Headed Geedo, Hitotsu-Me Giant, Dark King of the Abyss... Summon!"

"You little brat! Armored Lizard, Blackland Fire Dragon, Baby Dragon! Summon!"

All six monsters now appeared ready for a brutal fight, with hissing, growling, grunting, and roaring coming from both sides of the battlefield.

"Just to teach you a lesson, I'll go first! Blackland Fire Dragon, attack Three-Headed Geedo with Flame Gale!"

The green dragon rolled its head back, then spewed flames from its mouth, scorching the fiend. Even Mokuba could feel the heat as a few embers scattered after the attack.

"Now, Baby Dragon, attack Three-Headed Geedo again with Fire Breath!"

The smaller dragon inhaled deeply as it prepared its attack. It was almost a cute and comical scene, as it nearly rolled onto its back in midair. It wasn't very funny once another stream of fire blazed against the body of Three-Headed Geedo, causing critical damage. Mokuba flinched as a wave of heat hit after the fiery attack, then shook it off.

"If you think I'm going to let you attack me again, think again! Three-Headed Geedo, heal yourself with Red Medicine! And Dark King of the Abyss, attack Baby Dragon with Inferno Trial!"

A red wave of light passed over the fiendish creature. It straightened its posture and appeared ready to fight after the medicine had taken effect, which was definitely a good sign.

The dark king fired a green beam of energy at the smaller dragon, almost like a laser. Revenge is truly sweet... the attack delivered critical damage! It was a little sad to see the smaller dragon with its eyes squeezed tightly in pain, with a dark spot on its chest where the beam had hit... but it was only a creature generated by a computer, nothing more.

"Grrr... Armored Lizard! Attack Three-Headed Geedo with Battle Arts Claw!"

"Oh yeah? Hitotsu-Me Giant, attack Baby Dragon with Sledge Hammer!"

The two monsters leapt towards the opposite side. Hitotsu-Me Giant clasped its hands together into a larger fist and raised them over its head, before slamming them down over the neck of the smaller dragon. Armored Lizard, meanwhile, drew its talons back with a cry and slashed them across the shoulder of the fiend.

For the next turn, the officer repeated his attack on the fiend with his two dragons. Mokuba wisely had Three-Headed Geedo guard after that turn, and had Dark King of the Abyss attack Baby Dragon yet again. Hitotsu-Me Giant used Blue Medicine on Three-Headed Geedo to help ensure its health. Armored Lizard attempted to attack the tri-headed creature, but because Three-Headed Geedo had braced itself in the Guard position, the slashing attack did not deliver any damage.

Mokuba glanced over his shoulder as he heard Kotsuzuka and Shizuka applauding his good fortune. He grinned back at them as the third round started. When Blackland Fire Dragon attacked, it delivered enough damage to knock Three-Headed Geedo out of Guard position. This left it wide open for another attack from Baby Dragon. This didn't scare Mokuba, though!

"Three-Headed Geedo, attack Baby Dragon with Razzle Dazzle!"

The fiend raised its hands and shifted them in a slow, rhythmic up-and-down pattern. A magenta orb formed around the body of Baby Dragon, then released electrical energy into the creature. Next, Mokuba had Dark King of the Abyss attack Baby Dragon. This time, the attack delivered enough energy to knock out the smaller dragon! The soldier cursed softly as Mokuba finished his turn by having Hitotsu-Me Giant attack Blackland Fire Dragon. In return, Armored Lizard slashed Three-Headed Geedo.

Points were calculated, and Mokuba had won the match by a large margin, thanks to the critical hit he had scored and defeating Baby Dragon. The officer had to leave to give his monsters five minutes to rest and restore their Action Points.

"Don't worry, I can take this kid!" A new soldier marched onto the scene. "Axe Raider, Ryu-Kishin Powered, Penguin Soldier! Summon!"

"Three-Headed Geedo, Hitotsu-Me Giant, Dark King of the Abyss... Summon!"

"I'll go first! Axe Raider, attack Three-Headed Geedo with Crushing Axe!"

The armor-clad warrior swung said axe as he leapt forward, brutally hacking across the fiend's body.

"Now, Penguin Soldier! Attack it again with Spinning Sword Slash!"

With a small squack, the little penguin held up its sword and started to spin in a circle. It maneuvered itself along a curved path, spinning faster as it approached the fiend to deliver extra slashing. It finally swerved back to the spot where it had been standing and came to a halt. Remarkably, it didn't appear to be affected by dizziness at all!

"Hitotsu-Me Giant, heal Three-Headed Geedo with Blue Medicine! Dark King of the Abyss, attack Penguin Soldier with Inferno Trial!"

The green laser beam hit its mark, reducing the penguin's Life Points by almost one fourth. This was definitely a good monster to attack!

"You too, Three-Headed Geedo! Attack with Razzle Dazzle!"

Successfully hitting, the energy orb further lowered the penguin's Life Points.

"Ryu-Kishin Powered, attack Hitotsu-Me Giant with Powered Beam!"

Mokuba was quite surprised that his fiend creature had been spared, but the blast of energy still successfully hit his warrior.

In the second round, Axe Raider also attacked Hitotsu-Me Giant. Now it had a little over half of its Life Points remaining. Penguin Soldier attacked Dark King of the Abyss this time, only giving minor damage. Mokuba used Hitotsu-Me Giant's turn to heal itself, then had his Dark King attack Penguin Solider, leaving it with only a quarter of its Life Points! Ryu-Kishin Powered chose to attack Three-Headed Geedo this time, but Mokuba's fiend creature held strong and fought back, attacking Penguin Soldier with Razzle Dazzle, enough to leave it with a scant amount of Life Points!

In the next round, Mokuba had Three-Headed Geedo sit in Guard Position, and had Dark King of the Abyss attack Penguin Soldier. Much to his disappointment, the beam's attack fell just to the right of Penguin Soldier. With two Action Points remaining, Penguin Soldier attacked Hitotsu-Me Giant twice, despite how little damage it did.

Missing the attack had a critical effect on Mokuba's points; he ended up losing the match by only 308 points. If that attack had hit, he would have won!

"Haha, see? You're slipping under pressure. My team'll be back in a second!" the soldier taunted.

"Here, I'll handle the kid while you wait," said a second soldier. "Ryu-Kishin Powered! Axe Raider! Penguin Soldier! Summon!"

"Three-Headed Geedo, Dark King of the Abyss, Hitotsu-Me Giant! Summon!" Mokuba cried.

"Ryu-Kishin Powered, attack Three-Headed Geedo with Powered Beam! Penguin Soldier, do the same with your Spinning Sword Slash!" the soldier declared before Mokuba had a chance to react.

Both monsters delivered their attacks successfully; Mokuba's monster was starting to look really weary.

"Dark King of the Abyss, attack Penguin Soldier with Inferno Trial! Three-Headed Geedo, heal yourself with Red Medicine."

As the green energy beam struck the beast, the red healing energy engulfed Mokuba's other fiend.

"Axe Raider, attack Hitotsu-Me Giant with Crushing Axe!"

The axe met its mark, striking the monster brutally.

"Hitotsu-Me Giant, heal yourself with Blue Medicine!"

A blue healing energy engulfed the same monster. It definitely appeared to be feeling a little better.

The next round, Penguin Soldier was assigned to Guard position and Ryu-Kishin Powered attacked Three-Headed Geedo. Three-Headed Geedo was definitely feeling better, so it attacked Penguin Soldier, delivering enough damage to knock it out of Guard position. After that, Dark King of the Abyss attacked the penguin next, delivering enough damage to lower its Life Points in half. Axe Raider attacked Hitotsu-Me Giant after that, but it still had a healthy amount of Life Points. Mokuba had it attack Penguin Soldier.

The next round, much to Mokuba's annoyance, Penguin Soldier also sat in Guard position again. Dark King of the Abyss was able to knock it out of Guard position with an Inferno Trial attack, but when Three-Headed Geedo attacked, it wasn't completely able to defeat Penguin Soldier, leaving it with 52 Life Points. Penguin Soldier finished the match by attacking Dark King of the Abyss.

Again, Mokuba was left with a disappointing loss, this time by only 189 points.

"Do you need any help?" Kotsuzuka called out from the wooden fort.

"I'll be okay! Tell my big brother not to worry!"

Kotsuzuka turned to Kaiba, standing beside him.

"He says not to-"

"I heard."

Kotsuzuka glanced down from the wooden watch tower, watching as Mokuba engaged in battle with a third soldier.

The first round, Penguin Soldier attacked Three-Headed Geedo. Mokuba acted quickly this time and had Hitotsu-Me Giant and Dark King of the Abyss attack Penguin Soldier. His quick thinking rewarded him; the second attack delivered critical damage! Axe Raider attacked Hitotsu-Me Giant, but then Three-Headed Geedo attacked Penguin Solider. Ryu-Kishin Powered finished the round by attacking Hitotsu-Me Giant as well.

The second round, Hitotsu-Me Giant healed itself, then Three-Headed Geedo attacked Penguin Soldier. Penguin Soldier attacked Three-Headed Geedo, then Ryu-Kishin Powered attacked Dark King of the Abyss. The Dark King assumed the Guard position, just before Axe Raider attacked it. It was knocked out of position and received minor damage.

In the third round, Penguin Soldier attacked Dark King of the Abyss as well. Three-Headed Geedo used Red Medicine to heal it, then the Dark King- feeling revitalized- attacked and finished off Penguin Soldier once and for all.

Having destroyed an opponent's monster, Mokuba got a nice boost of points. He won the match by a decent 567 points.

"Here, don't worry," said the second soldier from before. "I can handle it from here. Penguin Soldier, Ryu-Kishin Powered, Axe Raider! Summon!"

"Three-Headed Geedo, Dark King of the Abyss, Hitotsu-Me Giant! Summon!"

Immediately, Mokuba had Three-Headed Geedo attack Penguin Soldier, defeating it for good. Now he had Dark King of the Abyss and Hitotsu-Me Giant attack Ryu-Kishin Powered. In return, it attacked Dark King of the Abyss, whereas Axe Raider attacked Hitotsu-Me Giant. It healed itself, then Mokuba had his two other monsters Guard. Axe Raider attacked Dark King of the Abyss, successfully knocking it off guard. Ryu-Kishin Powered then attacked it again for extra damage. Both fiends attacked Ryu-Kishin Powered again to finish the match.

Just like before, Mokuba won the match. His confidence was definitely improving after winning by 989 points.

"Oh, you sure 'handled' that well. Let me show you how it's done," the first soldier jeered, brushing past his defeated comrade. "Axe Raider! Ryu-Kishin Powered! Penguin Soldier! Summon!"

"Three-Headed Geedo! Dark King of the Abyss! Hitotsu-Me Giant! Summon!"

In the first round, Hitotsu-Me Giant attacked Penguin Soldier, quickly defeating it. Three-Headed Geedo then attacked Ryu-Kishin Powered. Ryu-Kishin Powered attacked it back, whereas Axe Raider chose to Guard. Dark King of the Abyss then proceeded to attack Ryu-Kishin Powered as well. Hitotsu-Me Giant used its last Action Point to Guard, and Three-Headed Geedo repeated the action. Ryu-Kishin Powered attempted to attack Three-Headed Geedo, but the Powered Beam missed. Axe Raider attacked the same monster and hit, delivering a little damage. Three-Headed Geedo and Dark King of the Abyss were now free to attack Ryu-Kishin Powered.

Mokuba won this match, by 323 points.

Now the officer from before stepped forward to fight. "Blackland Fire Dragon! Armored Lizard! Summon!"

"Dark King of the Abyss, Hitotsu-Me Giant, and Three-Headed Geedo! Summon!"

Mokuba started the match by having Hitotsu-Me Giant wait a turn, then having Dark King of the Abyss and Three-Headed Geedo Guard. Blackland Fire Dragon attacked Dark King of the Abyss, delivering minor damage, then had Armored Lizard attack it again.

Mokuba quickly had Hitotsu-Me Giant use a Blue Medicine to heal the Dark King, then had it Guard again as Three-Headed Geedo attacked Blackland Fire Dragon. Blackland Fire Dragon attempted to attack Dark King of the Abyss but missed; Armored Lizard hit it but only delivered meager damage.

Hitotsu-Me Giant attacked Blackland Fire Dragon this turn. Dark King of the Abyss, feeling stronger, attacked Blackland Fire Dragon, as did Three-Headed Geedo. The dragon attacked the giant, whereas Armored Lizard chose to Guard.

Mokuba stood there, waiting for the soldier to remark on his defeat, but he didn't.

"Kid... what're you doing? You still have another attack left."

"I do?" Mokuba gasped. He glanced down at his read-out, and sure enough, Dark King of the Abyss had one Action Point left. "Whoa, sweet! It must have been leveling up! Okay, Dark King of the Abyss, attack Blackland Fire Dragon with Inferno Trial!"

The attack hit Blackland Fire Dragon successfully, ending the match. It was only holding on to about 90 Life Points.

"This isn't over!" the officer growled, marching away.

The third soldier returned for a match.

"Axe Raider and Ryu-Kishin Powered... Summon!"

"Hitotsu-Me Giant, Dark King of the Abyss, Three-Headed Geedo! Summon!"

Both of the opponent's monsters chose to Guard; Mokuba had his fiends Guard as well, whereas Hitotsu-Me Giant waited a turn. Now both Axe Raider and Ryu-Kishin Powered attacked Three-Headed Geedo; both attacks hit but delivered no damage. Now Mokuba was free to attack, and with seven total Action Points too!

Ryu-Kishin Powered had about 930 Life Points, but they could be easily eliminated after 6 or 7 turns, possibly even 5 if Mokuba got lucky.

Three-Headed Geedo attacked first, delivering a good 175 points of damage. Then it was Dark King of the Abyss's turn, and a well-aimed Inferno Trial delivered 152 points of damage. Last came Hitotsu-Me Giant, delivering 160 points of damage.

Mokuba checked the readout after that turn. Ryu-Kishin Powered had about 443 Life Points left.

The next round, Three-Headed Geedo delivered 155 points of damage and Hitotsu-Me Giant delivered 132 points of damage. Dark King of the Abyss delivered 139 points of damage. For a final attack, Dark King of the Abyss delivered 153 points, plenty to knock out Ryu-Kishin Powered.

The first soldier returned for another fight.

The first round, Mokuba had all three of his monsters Guard. His opponent had Ryu-Kishin Powered sit on Guard, whereas he had Axe Raider attack Three-Headed Geedo, delivering minor damage. Three-Headed Geedo attacked Ryu-Kishin Powered next, delivering minor damage, then had Hitotsu-Me Giant wait, followed by Dark King of the Abyss attacking to deliver more damage.

Kotsuzuka stretched his arms out as Mokuba continued to fight. The soldiers had attacked at 9; now it was almost 10.

"Can I please just go fight now? I think Mokuba can handle these guys. See? He just won the fight,"

The second soldier approached Mokuba to fight. Seto watched as his brother used another Blue Medicine (now down to one) to heal a monster as he started a fight.

"I told you, not just yet. These soldiers haven't been completely defeated, and something could go wrong." Seto replied.

"Then why can't you fight them?"

"As the leader of the group, my safety and my victory is the most important," Seto retorted. "Even if Mokuba beats these guys, even if you beat the officer at Craw Valley... if I lose the fight to Marthis, everything is in vain. We lose. If those weren't the rules... that would be me fighting down there instead of my brother."

Kotsuzuka stared back at Seto for a moment, until a flash of blue light of behind him tore his attention away.

"That was his last Blue Medicine," Kotsuzuka stated.

"He's starting a new fight," Shizuka reported.

Attacks were exchanged, monsters were put on guard, until a monster finally fell...

... and it was Three-Headed Geedo. The constant barrage of flaming attacks from the opponent's dragon seemed to have left Mokuba slightly shaken up.

Mokuba lost his first match after a streak of seven victories. Sure, he had taken down Blackland Fire Dragon, and Armored Lizard only had three-fourths of its Life Points left... but a loss was a loss.

Seto, however, hadn't failed to notice that Mokuba now seemed to be a little 'out of it'.

"Mokuba! You don't look very good. Do you want to take a break?" his older brother shouted to him.

Mokuba shook his head.

"Don't worry, Nii-sama! I'll be fine!"

The third soldier stepped forward with only Axe Raider remaining, but Mokuba had to play it safe, having his monsters Guard on each turn. After Axe Raider's Action Points ran out, he had Dark King of the Abyss attack twice.

_Next time I fight him, I can take him down! _Mokuba told himself.

The first soldier returned to fight Mokuba again, and although he lost Ryu-Kishin Powered, at least Axe Raider held on to fight. Mokuba won the match, although Hitotsu-Me Giant was slouched over, panting heavily, down to the last of its Life Points.

"Oh, gosh..." Mokuba sympathized, "... you can't take much more of this, can you?"

Soldier number 2 returned with a very low-powered Ryu-Kashin Powered and Axe Raider. Hitotsu-Me Giant quickly defeated the weak fiend, until Mokuba realized what a mistake he had made.

_Oh no! I should've put him in Guard!_

Rather than dwelling on his mistake, he at least had Dark King of the Abyss attack Axe Raider.

Axe Raider attacked Hitotsu-Me Giant without hesitation, and the warrior fell to the ground, defeated.

"Nooo!" Mokuba cried, running to the creature's side. He almost wanted to offer some sort of comfort to the creature. He gently reached down and placed a hand on the shoulder of the monster. It stared up at him weakly with its lone eye before closing it.

Mokuba shook his head.

_Concentrate!_

"Dark King of the Abyss! Attack Axe Raider with Inferno Trial!"

Axe Raider struck back with Crushing Axe, silencing the fiend. It still fought back with two attacks, but it was clearly tired out.

"Nii-sama, I think I'm ready to -"

Before Mokuba had a chance to pull back, the officer had returned.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. All out of steam? Armored Lizard! Summon!"

Even Mokuba had to admit, he had started to feel poorly- not just for his monsters, but physically as well. He had never lost a fight all-out... was this how it felt?

"Oh crap..." Kotsuzuka muttered, gazing over the edge of the watch tower. "He's not gonna make it!"

He dashed over to the ladder leading up to the watch tower and clambered down it rapidly, his hands and feet pounding against the rungs.

"Kotsuzuka! Where are you going?" Shizuka shouted as the boy gathered his three monsters together.

"Kaiba was right! Mokuba needs my help!" Kotsuzuka called back as he ran for the doorway of the fortress.

"Dark King of the Abyss!" Mokuba paused to catch his breath. "Summ-"

"Battle Arts Claw!"

The soldier spared Mokuba no mercy, having his reptilian creature immediately attack the robed fiend. Dark King of the Abyss fell onto its back, completely depleted of its Life Points. At the same time, a powerful shockwave knocked Mokuba off his feet.

"Mokuba! _No!_" his older brother shouted as the boy toppled over backwards...

... Until Kotsuzuka caught him from behind and broke his fall.

"Kotsuzuka!" Mokuba gasped.

"Are you okay?" he asked, surprised that he actually managed to keep him from collapsing. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah," Mokuba replied, getting to his feet, although he was slightly unsteady.

"Go see Shizuka. You need to lie down." Kotsuzuka glanced over and saw Mokuba's monsters sluggishly returning to the fort. "Your monsters need a good rest too. Don't worry. I can take these guys now."

Mokuba held onto Kotsuzuka's shoulder to ensure his stability one last time, before walking back to the fortress.

"All right then! Soldier number three! It's your turn! Water Girl, Berfomet, The Snake Hair! Summon!"

"Axe Raider! Summon!"

Seto and Shizuka ran over to Mokuba.

"Nii-sama! I almost had him!"

"That's okay, you fought to the best of your ability... and it definitely was enough." Seto glanced up and watched as Water Girl knocked out Axe Raider. The first soldier was now muttering something as he summoned his own Axe Raider to fight against Kotsuzuka.

"Come on, Mokuba," Shizuka comforted, placing a gentle hand on the shoulder of the younger boy. "I think you've earned a nice rest. If you're in any pain, I'll see if I can help you feel better."

Seto watched her head over to a small cabin within the the fortress, then turned his attention back to the fighting. Berfomet had the honors of defeating this soldier.

The second soldier returned, and lost after his Axe Raider took attacks from The Snake Hair and Water Girl.

Finally, the officer that defeated Mokuba fought against Kotsuzuka... and sure enough, was defeated after Armored Lizard took a critical hit from Berfomet.

"How're your monsters?" Kaiba asked.

"Didn't take a single hit!" Kotsuzuka replied with a grin. "My monsters still have all their Life Points."

"Huh. Not bad," Kaiba stated. "Go ahead to Craw Valley. You can handle it."

He glanced back inside the fortress and waved his monsters over.

"As for me, I have a score to settle with Marthis."


	8. New Allies

_One man may hit the mark, another blunder; but heed not these distinctions. Only from the alliance of the one, working with and through the other, are great things born. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery_

**Chapter 8: New Allies**

Ryu-Kishin Powered hovered over to Kaiba, floating beside him. Crawling Dragon and Armored Lizard ambled over beside him as well.

"All right, we're all set. We'll go conquer Vrauson. Kotsuzuka, the task of conquering Craw-Valley is in your hands now."

He glanced up and saw that the CEO had already walked off, following the quick pace that Ryu-Kishin Powered set for the rest of the team.

"You can do it, don't worry!" Shizuka reassured, walking over to the boy. She still had a roll of bandages in her hand; she had probably finished taking care of Mokuba and his monsters.

Kotsuzuka smiled at the girl. He gestured to his monsters to follow him, and turned to wave at her as he left the fortress.

"See you later!"

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

Kotsuzuka quickly arrived at Craw-Valley, despite having to cross a river. He entered the small city boldly.

"Hey! Is there a marshal here? I've come to pick a fight!"

At last, an officer walked over, bringing two dragon monsters and a beast creature with him.

"You picked a bad man to challenge," the officer snarled. "Baby Dragon! Blackland Fire Dragon! Armored Lizard! Summon!"

"That's it? I already defeated a similar team! Water Girl, Berfomet, The Snake Hair! Summon!"

Kotsuzuka was feeling 'super-charged' after the four fights he had gone through before, and he let the thrill of victories guide him in battle here.

"Water Girl, attack Baby Dragon with Water Tornado! Berfomet, attack Baby Dragon with Plains Dash, too!"

The lovely spellcaster spun around and shot a stream of bubbles at the dragon, which flinched as the bubbles popped against its scales audibly. Next, Kotsuzuka's fiend creature swooped forward and slashed madly at the flesh of the enemy, creating decent damage.

"All right, Blackland Fire Dragon! Attack Water Girl with Flame Gale!"

Rearing its ugly head back in a semi-circle, the green dragon spewed hot flames from its mouth. Kotsuzuka could feel the heat as his spellcaster was burned.

"The Snake Hair, attack Baby Dragon with Stone Eyes!"

Kotsuzuka's other fiendish creature crossed her arms in front of her body, conjuring a dark cloud of fog. Her eyes gleamed gold, before firing golden beams of energy at Baby Dragon, hitting it directly in the shoulders.

"Baby Dragon, attack The Snake Hair with Fire Breath! Armored Lizard, attack Berfomet with Battle Arts Claw!"

The petite dragon drew in a deep breath, before spewing flames at the Gorgon-like fiend. Armored Lizard, meanwhile, successfully landed a slashing attack against the front side of Berfomet.

"Okay, Berfomet, attack Baby Dragon with Plains Dash! Water Girl, attack Baby Dragon with Water Tornado!"

Both attacks hit directly. Baby Dragon was now on its last legs... or wings, in its case.

"Blackland Fire Dragon, attack Berfomet with Flame Gale!"

The flames seared against the fur of the fiend. Even Kotsuzuka could feel the heat that blew off of his monster's body.

"Hang in there, all right? The Snake Hair, attack Baby Dragon with Stone Eyes!"

The energy beams hit accurately, and Baby Dragon collapsed onto the ground with what sounded like a pathetic chirp.

"Grrrgh... Armored Lizard, attack Berfomet with Battle Arts Slash!"

The claws of the enemy reptile struck powerfully, leaving Berfomet with about half of its Life Points.

"All right, Berfomet... heal yourself with Blue Medicine!"

The blue glow concealed the fiendish monster, until it faded away to reveal the creature was now flying much stronger with its Life Points almost completely restored.

"Blackland Fire Dragon, attack Berfomet with Flame Gale!"

The flames did hit, but at least Berfomet could tolerate the attack better than it would have without healing.

"The Snake Hair, attack Blackland Fire Dragon with Stone Eyes!"

The beams hit correctly, as the large dragon flinched.

"Armored Lizard, attack The Snake Hair with Battle Arts Claw!"

The reptile may have had a glare in its eyes, whether from the previous attack or from the strong sunlight, because its attack fell far left of the Medusa-like creature.

The officer groaned as Kotsuzuka claimed victory in the first fight.

Five minutes later, after Action Points had been restored, Kotsuzuka went in for a second round of fighting against the officer. Baby Dragon was nowhere to be seen, and had probably retreated to an inner part of the city to recover.

"Armored Lizard! Blackland Fire Dragon! Summon!"

"Water Girl, Berfomet, The Snake Hair... Summon!"

Kotsuzuka started the match by having all three of his monsters attack Blackland Fire Dragon. All three attacks were accurate, and reduced the large dragon's remaining Life Points by more than half. The officer had his dragon Guard, and had Armored Lizard attack The Snake Hair.

For the second round, Kotsuzuka had Water Girl wait a turn and had The Snake Hair attempt to attack Blackland Fire Dragon to knock it off guard. Her attack was successful, delivering a few extra points of damage as well. Berfomet was free to attack, and further lowered the dragon's Life Points. Blackland Fire Dragon chose to attack The Snake Hair this time, as did Armored Lizard.

In the third and final round, Water Girl attacked the dragon to leave it with nearly 50 Life Points. Berfomet used its turn to heal The Snake Hair, which in turn attacked and defeated Blackland Fire Dragon. Armored Lizard was left alone and could only attack Berfomet.

Once again, Kotsuzuka turned out victorious.

Five minutes later, Kotsuzuka returned to attack, with all three of his monsters in decent condition compared to the lone monster his opponent had left.

"Armored Lizard! Summon!"

"Water Girl, Berfomet, The Snake Hair... Summon!"

Given the advantage, Kotsuzuka was once again able to attack first.

The Snake Hair and Water Girl attacked first, and were successful. Armored Lizard went into Guard position, but an attack from Berfomet knocked it out of its defensive stance.

Water Girl and The Snake Hair both attacked again, as Armored Lizard's Life Points continued to plummet. The officer commanded Armored Lizard to Guard, but again was fruitless as Berfomet knocked it out of position again.

It was all but over now. The Snake Hair attacked again, and hit successfully again. Armored Lizard sagged forward, panting heavily. It was left with less than 20 Life Points. The beast was ordered to Guard again... and it was in vain yet again, as a Plains Dash attack proved to be strong enough to defeat it completely with 34 points of damage.

The reptilian creature groaned like a rusty hinge, before collapsing forward. The officer stood there for a moment, dumbfounded by being defeated by a child, before his brow furrowed in rage. A grown man, a powerful, experienced officer in the Imperial Guard... defeated by a mere _child?_

He drew a sword from the sheath on his belt and charged forward at Kotsuzuka with a battlecry. Stunned by this sudden outburst, Kotsuzuka was frozen in fear. He couldn't move! He had to move, he needed to move, his life depended on it, but his feet were practically fastened to the ground with invisible nails of fear. His monsters watched their marshal helplessly; with their Action Points spent, they couldn't attack the man! Kotsuzuka shut his eyes, bracing for the worst, hoping that it would just end quickly and he wouldn't feel a blade slice through his body...

"_Hot Tunes!_" shouted a voice from nowhere.

A stream of flames passed in front of Kotsuzuka, defending him. The officer, unable to stop, dashed right into the flames. The fires engulfed his body and he released a gurgling scream as he crawled frantically out of the flames, desperate for a way to extinguish the coursing heat that enveloped him.

Unable to risk being attacked again, Kotsuzuka quickly gestured for his monsters and ran with them outside, after successfully conquering Craw-Valley. They now were headed east, to return to Beyzon. Kotsuzuka knew Kaiba still wouldn't want nor need his help, Shizuka could help heal his monsters... and he wanted to see how Mokuba was feeling - hopefully better.

As he walked along the path towards Beyzon, he continued to mentally chide himself at letting fear get the best of him. He might as well have told the soldier, 'please, use your sword to mutilate me as you wish'. For someone who liked the occult and looked so frightening himself, it irked Kotsuzuka that he could be so timid sometimes.

_Forget about it. Just... stop thinking about it._

And yet... he was also concerned about the miraculous rescue that had just taken place. That voice had sounded so familiar... but who was it? What monster was it? Now that the Imperial Guard was out to kill them, who could possibly want to help them?

If Kotsuzuka had taken a chance to glance upward, he would have spotted Parrot Dragon flying southeast, towards the mountains, as though trying to take a hidden detour to Vrauson...

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

At the same time, Kaiba arrived at Vrauson. He glanced over at Armored Lizard and gave it a nod. Understanding the gesture, it rammed its body against the door, shattering the wood into splinters.

After the dust and splinters had settled, Seto could make out a startled figure standing a small distance away.

Marthis.

"No! Stay back, I say!" Marthis gasped, holding up a hand in front of him as though to defend himself. "Don't come near me!"

The Emperor's advisor turned tail and ran. Seto chased him, following him up a stone passageway that spiraled upward. A bright light ahead indicated they were heading outside.

Now they stood atop the castle's ramparts. Seto's three monsters finally caught up with him, and Marthis appeared to be calling for his monsters.

"You don't stand a chance against me! Ryu-Kishin Powered, Armored Lizard, Crawling Dragon... Summon!"

Marthis smirked underneath his mask.

"Reaper of the Cards, Invitation to a Dark Sleep, and The Illusory Gentleman! Summon!"

"What?" Kaiba gasped, taken aback to see the three new monsters that had now taken a battle position in front of Marthis.

_I expected him to still have those weak monsters with him!_

"Let me guess, you were expecting the 'lobster', the 'clown', and the 'evil flower', weren't you?" Marthis laughed. "Kaiba, how could you be so _stupid_? Surely you wouldn't expect the Emperor to let me fight with the weakest of creatures?"

Seto growled after being insulted, but decided to use his monsters to take out his fury on the advisor. "Crawling Dragon, attack Reaper of the Cards with Flame Burst!"

The hefty dragon inhaled deeply, before spewing a blast of fire at the ghostly fiend draped in a tattered brown robe. It clutched the scythe in its bony hands tightly against its levitating body before taking a normal position again.

"Reaper of the Cards, attack Crawling Dragon with Soul Eraser! The Illusory Gentleman, attack Crawling Dragon with Spectral Mist!"

The fiend that had been previously attacked swooped forward with what sounded like a mischievous giggle. In a rapid, fluid motion, it swung its scythe in an arc across the dragon's neck. The fiend then swooped backwards to float in front of its marshal.

Now the spellcaster uncrossed his arms, one of which held a golden scepter. He held the scepter in front of his body, releasing a white, icy spray that misted over Crawling Dragon's body. Satisfied with the attack, the spellcaster pulled the scepter back to his body, crossing his arms again.

"Armored Lizard, attack Reaper of the Cards with Battle Arts Claw!"

With a snarl, the metal-covered lizard leapt forward and swiped its talons across the body of the fiend, then leapt back into position.

"Invitation to a Dark Sleep, attack Crawling Dragon with Sleep Wave!"

The hooded fiend lifted its gloved hands into the air, producing a golden-yellow orb of energy. Hurling its arms forward as though tossing a giant ball, it launched the orb at the dragon. Upon impact, curved waves of energy reflected off of the dragon's body. Seto had to shield his eyes from the light that had been reflected.

"Ryu-Kishin Powered, attack Reaper of the Cards with Powered Beam!"

The magenta fiend took a deep breath then spewed a trail of off-yellow flames at the fiend.

"Now, Crawling Dragon... heal yourself with Blue Medicine."

The blue glow enveloped the dragon, and it began to appear much healthier.

"That won't last for long! Reaper of the Cards, attack Crawling Dragon with Soul Eraser! The Illusory Gentleman, Guard yourself!"

The swinging scythe hit successfully, causing the newly healed dragon to flinch.

"Armored Lizard, attack Reaper of the Cards with Battle Arts Claw!"

"Invitation to a Dark Sleep... oh, you can Guard yourself too."

"Are you toying with me? Ryu-Kishin Powered, attack Reaper of the Cards with Powered Beam!"

The flaming beam hit, leaving the grim reaper-like creature with a little over 120 Life Points.

"Crawling Dragon..." Seto toyed with his strategy for a moment; he could finish off Reaper of the Cards now... but that would leave him vulnerable for up to three attacks from Marthis's other two monsters. Armored Lizard still had an Action Point left, so it could also finish off the fiend next turn. Yes, it was definitely to his advantage not to have his dragon put at risk when his reptilian creature could just as easily defeat the enemy. "... Guard yourself."

"Well, I'll be! Kaiba actually put one of his monsters into the Guard position!" Marthis mocked.

"Stay out of this! Armored Lizard, finish off Reaper of the Cards with Battle Arts Claw!"

The lizard's talons raked across the body of the fiend. With a blood curdling screech, it collapsed onto the ground. It now resembled a loose robe that had been discarded with a scythe placed across it.

"Hmph. It didn't have any more Action Points anyway. Now, Invitation to a Dark Sleep, attack Crawling Dragon with Sleep Wave!"

The yellow orb struck the dragon and knocked it out of Guard position.

"Good. The Illusory Gentleman, Guard." Marthis paused for a moment. "All right, now you can attack. Use Spectral Mist on Crawling Dragon!"

The final attack was delivered, and Crawling Dragon was left with a little over half of its Life Points.

"I defeated one of your monsters. I believe that gives me the advantage." Seto stated with a smirk.

"Oh, I'm afraid you are mistaken. Based on our actions in battle, I have the advantage." Marthis replied.

Seto glanced down at the score display on his Duel Disk. Sure enough, Marthis had won the match by 239 points.

_That was why he had his monster Guard! If he had just attacked me normally... I might have actually won!_

"Why yes, it's no wonder why I appeared useless to you on the battlefield." the advisor chortled mockingly. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'll be back in five minutes," Kaiba grumbled, gesturing for his monsters to step outside. "I'll defeat you then."

Marthis watched the former general step outside.

_That's right, Kaiba, go ahead and defeat me in a simple battle using petty monsters. It doesn't matter. I'll get rid of you no matter what I have to do!_

The minutes passed by quickly, and soon the Action Points of Seto's three monsters were restored. He made his way through the passageways of Vrauson back to the ramparts where Marthis was waiting.

"Crawling Dragon, Ryu-Kishin Powered, Armored Lizard... Summon!"

"Invitation to a Dark Sleep, and The Illusory Gentleman... Summon!"

For his first round, Kaiba had Crawling Dragon heal itself with Blue Medicine. He also had Ryu-Kishin Powered attack Invitation to a Dark Sleep. In return, it attacked Armored Lizard. The Illusory Gentleman also attacked, but its target was Crawling Dragon. To finish the round, Armored Lizard attacked "Invitation".

In the second round, both Crawling Dragon and Ryu-Kishin Powered attacked Invitation. It had a little over half of its Life Points left. Invitation attacked Ryu-Kishin Powered, as did The Illusory Gentleman. Armored Lizard used its turn to attack Invitation to a Dark Sleep as well.

For the third round, Kaiba had Crawling Dragon attack Invitation to a Dark Sleep yet again. Much to Kaiba's pleasure, the Flame Burst delivered critical damage. Invitation to a Dark Sleep weakly attacked Armored Lizard, whereas The Illusory Gentleman chose to Guard. Armored Lizard used a Battle Arts Claw attack to completely defeat the fiend. With one Action Point left, Marthis had The Illusory Gentleman attack Crawling Dragon.

Marthis glowered at the display on his Duel Disk.

"Whether it's based on actions or overall advantage, the victory is mine." Kaiba concluded. "In five minutes, my monsters will officially defeat you."

Seto and Marthis stood apart from each other, glaring. Whether directly or underneath a mask, their eyes were locked on each other in a deathly competitive glare. Both were silent, unwilling to make an insult or taunt that could somehow be turned against them. The hatred for each other seethed so long that they almost didn't realize that their monsters' Action Points had been restored.

"All right. I'm ready to get rid of you for good. Crawling Dragon, Armored Lizard, Ryu-Kishin Powered! Summon!"

"The Illusory Gentleman, Summon!"

Healing his monsters seemed pointless now; Kaiba knew this was going to be the final battle. He had Crawling Dragon, Ryu-Kishin Powered, and Armored Lizard all attack The Illusory Gentleman. In return, it attacked Armored Lizard.

In the second round, Seto had Crawling Dragon and Armored Lizard attack; he had Ryu-Kishin Powered wait a turn. The Illusory Gentleman attempted to attack Crawling Dragon, but the mist sprayed too high.

In the third round, Crawling Dragon attacked The Illusory Gentleman, and then Armored Lizard did the same. With only 101 Life Points left, the spellcaster's fate was all but sealed. A Powered Beam attack from Ryu-Kishin Powered finished the job. At last, Marthis was finally defeated. The shockwaves from the attack knocked him backwards.

"GWAAAHH!" Marthis cried out as he fell onto his back. He staggered back onto his feet, his shoulders rising with each heavy breath he took.

"It's over, Marthis. Now leave me alone. My brother and I want nothing to do with you. Go back to the Empire you love so much."

"Go back? Go back?" Marthis seethed. "To go back would be to give up on the Empire I adore so much! And I would _never_ turn my back on the Empire! _Unlike you!_"

Marthis was raging mad now. He sprinted forward, throwing himself at Kaiba, roughly shoving Seto to the ground. The back of his head collided against the rough stone paving. Everything turned a bright white color, and Kaiba was seeing stars. A whooshing pain, accompanied by the pounding sound of his slowing heartbeat filled his ears.

At the sight of Marthis over him, Kaiba tried to roll aside, despite dizziness hindering his senses. The advisor, however, refused to give Seto a chance to counter, roughly kicking him in the head. The ground beneath Seto seemed to rock as stars exploded across his vision. He tried to lift himself on an elbow to steady himself, but was answered with another blow to the head. Seto no longer moved, his senses too shaken to even pull himself up. In the depths of his consciousness, he hoped maybe he could fake passing out until he had better grip of his senses, and then surprise Marthis -

Another kick to the head cut off Kaiba's thoughts. The CEO was now sprawled out on the battlefield, unconscious. Marthis straightened his stance, a wicked grin underneath his mask.

"Well, I'm glad I pulled that off. Without Zarigun at my side, I wasn't sure if I could knock you out myself." He reached down and grabbed the front of Kaiba's trenchcoat. "Now then... I've got some unfinished business with you..."

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

A heavy, pounding sensation filled Kaiba's brain. It felt like there was pressure pushing down against his head. He could feel his hands bound together behind his back, and his ankles were constricted by ropes as well. His eyes flickered open, a blurry world before him. He closed his eyes, trying to regain some concentration. He reopened them, this time seeing two figures Marthis upside down in front of him. Seto closed his eyes again, then reopened them. Now he only saw one Marthis, but he was still upside down. He blinked several times, trying to get his vision to correct itself, but to no avail. Then it struck Seto - Marthis wasn't the one upside down; it was _him_. Tilting his head down (to look upwards), he could see that the ropes binding him appeared to have some sort of weights attached to them, and that he was hanging by his feet on a rope attached to a pulley; the other end clutched in Marthis's hand.

Seto lifted his head (to look down) and saw his confused face staring back at him. His reflection was darker and blurrier, though, and surrounded by a circular wall of stone. This wasn't a mirror... this was a well, and he was seeing his reflection in the water!

He glanced back up at Marthis. As though the Emperor's advisor recognized what he was thinking, he let Seto watch as he slowly released his hold on the rope, finger by finger.

"See you in the Underworld, Kaiba."

Marthis released the rope from his hand. Kaiba released a desperate shout for help before he plunged into the cold, murky depths of the well.

What would happen to Mokuba? What about that other boy, and the girl? What would happen to his real, physical body? If Mokuba got out of the world safely, what would happen to him then? Worries - mostly for his younger brother - flooded Seto's mind as he fell deeper into the water.

Marthis dusted his hands off, pleased with the wicked deed.

"Marthis! Marthis!" A deep voice shouting down the passageway caught the advisor's attention.

A large, muscular man came running to him, with tattoos printed upon his bald head.

"Forgive me, sir," he panted. "I was sent here to receive an update on the situation. Where is Kaiba?"

Marthis glared at the burly young man before him.

"Hmm, funny... you don't look like any of the soldiers from the Imperial Guard..." he commented.

"I was called in on short notice," he explained quickly. "So then... where is Seto Kaiba?"

"I lost the duel between our monsters, but that doesn't the Emperor not to worry. Kaiba's dead. He's dying as we speak." Marthis stated.

For once, Marthis could not have been more right. Kaiba's lungs were no longer begging for air, they were starting to _scream_ for it. He thrashed around desperately - even though he knew it was pointless, his survival instinct refused to listen to him.

"_What?_" the soldier exclaimed, briefly losing his composure. "Ahem... what do you mean, sir?"

The advisor gestured over at the well. "Drowning. In there."

The soldier nodded. "I see, sir... Only one thing left to do, then."

"And what might that be?" Marthis asked.

The soldier locked eyes with the Imperial advisor in a deadly glare.

Before Marthis even realized what had happened, the muscular man punched him in the face. His prized white mask shattered like an eggshell, the fragments scattering all over the paved ground in random directions. Marthis's bare face lay exposed to the noontime air, blood leaking from his nose and jaw. His eyes were closed shut in unconscious pain.

"Bastard," the muscular man muttered.

He ran over to the well and began dragging the rope out as quickly as he could, hauling Kaiba out of the water.

"Pegasus! Pegasus!" he shouted, clutching the brunet's body in his arms. "Marthis is gone! Follow my voice! I found Seto Kaiba!"

Pegasus came running into the stone room just as the burly man had laid Kaiba down on the ground. He was on his knees beside Seto.

"Aksimmon! Aksimmon... is he all right?"

Aksimmon placed two fingers to Kaiba's neck.

"He has a pulse, but I'm not sure if-"

Seto coughed heavily, water spluttering from his mouth. He began gasping deeply, taking in as much oxygen as his lungs would hold.

A small smile spread over Aksimmon's face as he glanced back up at Pegasus.

"I take that back, he's breathing too."

Pegasus got onto one knee beside the muscular man.

"What's the situation on dueling?"

"Well, Marthis has been defeated, of course." Aksimmon stated. He held up his Duel Disk. "The three soldiers and two officers here have also been defeated."

"Yes, I watched the officer at Craw-Valley get defeated." Pegasus confirmed. He grinned down at Kaiba. "Goodness, my boy! You've already finished them off! There's nothing left for me to do!"

Seto coughed again. Although he did not open his eyes, he still managed a weak reply. "Pegasus! ... What are you doing here?"

Pegasus shook his head. "No, take it easy. Don't worry about that now. You need to rest and get your strength back. You're lucky to be alive, you know."

He turned to Aksimmon.

"Take him back to our secret base. I'll go and get his little brother and the two others who were with him. Of course, getting them to believe me will be the hard part..."

"Don't worry about it. You're a persuasive person. They'll trust you, even if it takes some time." Aksimmon said with a smile.

Pegasus returned the smile and patted Aksimmon's shoulder.

"And that's exactly why I trust you. I know you'll get Kaiba back safely."

Aksimmon nodded, lifting Seto into his arms and walking outside.

"Dark Chimera, Summon!"

A winged fiend creature swooped down in front of him.

"Good. Here, let us on. We're taking him back to the base. Do you remember the way? Ah well. I can give you directions." he climbed onto the back of the fiendish creature, placing Seto on his back in front of him. They ascended for a little while, then flew over to where Ryu-Kishin Powered, Armored Lizard, and Crawling Dragon were waiting on the ramparts.

"Hey! Look up here!" Aksimmon shouted to them. The three monsters growled, as though expecting a battle. "No, it's okay. Your marshal is with me. I'm taking him with me to a safe place. You need to come along."

The three creatures shared a glance between each other, but seemed to understand. They appeared much calmer and followed Aksimmon and Dark Chimera to the southeast.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

"Mokuba! Shizuka!"

They both glanced up and turned to see Kotsuzuka jogging towards them, all three of his monsters with him.

"Oh... thank goodness you're all right, Kotsuzuka," Shizuka sighed.

"How are you feeling, Mokuba?" he asked.

"I'm fine... but I'm worried."

"Is it your brotherly insti..." Apparently, it wasn't just 'brotherly instinct'. Kotsuzuka noticed that not only Mokuba, but Shizuka as well appeared upset.

"Nii-sama still hasn't come back..."

"I really think Kaiba should have returned by now, don't you?" Shizuka asked.

"What if there was a trap? What if Marthis was stronger somehow? What if nii-sama... lost?"

"Kaiba never loses. He beat Marthis fair and square."

The three of them turned to see Pegasus had entered the wooden fort at Beyzon.

"Pegasus!" Mokuba gasped.

Kotsuzuka ran forward in front of Seto's younger brother and Shizuka.

"I'll fight you if I have to," Kotsuzuka stated. "I'm the only marshal left."

"Yes, I know. And you fought valiantly against the officer at Craw-Valley as well."

Kotsuzuka was startled by this statement.

"How... did you..."

"Do the words 'Hot Tunes' sound familiar?" Pegasus asked. He looked up into the sky and beckoned a creature down, his own Parrot Dragon.

"That was you?" Kotsuzuka gasped.

"Yes. I'm on your side now. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all!" Pegasus said with a laugh.

"Stop the jokes! Why are you really here?" the younger boy asked.

"Because I know what happened to Kaiba." he stated.

"Nii-sama?" Mokuba exclaimed. "Where is he? What did you do to him?"

"I did nothing... except save him, of course. Technically, Aksimmon did that, but-"

"What happened to him?" Mokuba demanded.

Pegasus took a deep breath. "Your brother defeated Marthis in the duel. However, Marthis attempted to drown him. That's when Aksimmon showed up. He beat up Marthis and then saved your brother. He's a little weak at the moment, considering he was almost killed, but otherwise he's all right. I had Aksimmon take him to our secret base, and I came here to explain what happened. Which I just did."

Mokuba and Kotsuzuka remained silent, exchanging a suspicious look.

"... Well... it does sound believable..." Shizuka said softly.

"I only have Parrot Dragon with me; Bickuribox and Dark Rabbit are at my base. If I _was_ going to attack you, it would be six monsters versus one. I came here not only to explain what happened, but to take you with me to the secret base where your brother will be resting. I have no hidden intentions, nothing! I honestly mean for the best. Just like you, I am trapped in this virtual world and want to get out."

Pegasus stood there for a moment awaiting their reply.

"Well... if he did attack us, we would have an advantage..." Kotsuzuka murmured.

"And he knows where nii-sama is... or at least he _says_ so..." Mokuba added.

Shizuka took a step forward.

"I'll trust you," she decided. "It's the only lead we have, and the story seems believable. It's either this, or sitting around and hoping that Kaiba's okay."

Mokuba and Kotsuzuka glanced at each other, then looked back at Pegasus and nodded.

"All right, we'll believe you. For now."

Pegasus sighed in relief. "Thank you. You'll be glad you did. Now then, our secret base is located on the outskirts of Sygh-Varths. You'll have to follow me to get there. Parrot Dragon, Summon!"

Kotsuzuka and Mokuba gestured for the monsters with them to come along. Kotsuzuka helped Mokuba climb on top of Berfomet with him. Shizuka looked awkwardly over at Midnight Fiend.

"Oh, it's all right," Pegasus commented, already sitting on the back of his dragon. "If you want to fly with me, I don't mind at all."

He held out a hand to her, which Shizuka didn't hesitate to accept.

Parrot Dragon, Berfomet, and Midnight Fiend (without any passengers) ascended into the air, the earthbound creatures following behind.

"We have a fair distance to fly!" Pegasus shouted to the two boys on Berfomet's back. "It's about two-fifteen right now. We'll be arriving at the base by nightfall. In the morning, we'll talk more about our plans."

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated and encouraged!**


	9. The Darker Side of SyghVarths

_We desire nothing so much as what we ought not to have. - Publilius Syrus_

**Chapter 9: The Darker Side of Sygh-Varths**

Night had fallen over all of the continent of Rondeval. It was as though the gods had spread a black blanket dotted with multiple shining stars of various hues across the sky.

The plains were bathed in dew in Maryah-Denn. The forests of Inzham were hushed. The oceans whispered on the shore of Gigan-Syip. The moon enlightened the city of Sygh-Varths with a dim blue glow. The traders and beggars were gone from the streets. There wasn't even a silent breeze passing through the city. The area was almost devoid of life. _Almost_.

A dark shadow slunk away from one of the buildings near the Emperor's palace; it was a stone rectangular building that was used as a pantry to feed the officials of the Empire. The silhouette snuck away from the palace and behind another building. This one wasn't nearly as grand; it likely housed a middle-class family or possibly even two low-class ones. The shadow followed the passageway behind the house, clinging to the dark corners of the other passages and alleys it made its way through. Like a black panther on the hunt, it sifted through the corridors, searching for its prey. At last, locked onto its destination, the shadow picked up speed.

It now stood in the center of a circular plaza. At the center was a simple fountain that had been constructed with complex aqueducts, and at the edge of the circle, stone benches were scattered neatly around the circumference of the plaza. The water released by the fountain sparkled like liquid crystals in the moonlight. The silhouette approached the fountain and sat down on the stone bars that encompassed it. As though amused by the nature of the water, the black shadow reached down to touch the fascinating substance. It turns out the 'shadow' was merely a dark cloak, as a slender hand slipped through and delicately pressed a finger to the surface of the cool water, admiring the smooth ripples that radiated from their light connection.

"Are you waiting for him?" asked a new shadow, standing behind the first one at the fountain.

"Yes," it replied, standing up straight. "He will come with the light of a new dawn."

The second shadow stood still, then reached upward. The "shadow" pulled the dark hood off of its head. A young man's head appeared from underneath the hood, shaking out his long silver hair that flickered in the moonlight.

"Nicely done," he complimented the other shadow with a smile.

The shadow by the fountain repeated suit, pulling off its hood. Underneath was a girl with brown hair that extended just below her shoulders. Finally free of the hood that had engulfed her, she wiped sweat from her forehead.

"Thanks," she replied, a proud gleam in her gray eyes. "I couldn't find any meats or cheeses, but there was plenty of bread, fruits, and vegetables."

The male shook his head.

"Hmmph. Haysheen never leaves anything special in his boring old pantry," he muttered.

"Sorry. I searched every nook and cranny and didn't find any of that stuff. At least we still have some food for a few days. Here you go," she explained, handing him a large black sack she had been carrying on her back. Now she looked much smaller after carrying so much weight.

The young man did not say anything, but he smiled at her in gratitude.

"By the way... I searched very carefully and found a box of strawberries... they're in the small wooden crate that's colored dark red... should be at the top of the sack. Give those strawberries to your sister. I know how much she likes them, Kenshouji." she stated, rolling her shoulders around.

Kenshouji frowned at the girl, earning a laugh from her.

"First of all, it's Shou. Call me Shou. Shou, as in, 'Show me the supplies'. Shou. Shou. Shou!" he insisted, although the girl continued to chuckle. "And second... my sister and grandfather are grateful to you, Athena. As am I."

Athena smiled at Shou, then made a face as she stretched her arms out until her shoulders audibly cracked.

"Whoa... Athena... are you sure you're all right?" Shou asked, startled by the sounds her joints made.

"Yeeeeaaaahhhh..." she groaned, relaxed, shaking her arms loose. "I'm just not used to carrying around so much weight yet. Malairuka and Jussel used to raid the pantries, remember?"

Shou nodded.

"I really miss them sometimes. But they would want us to keep on fighting, and so fight on we shall."

Athena smiled up at Shou. There seemed to be something about her expression though... her features seemed softer and warmer, as though she was trying to tell him something. He blushed faintly. Maybe now he could confess his feelings... maybe now, he could ask her...

"Athena..." he spoke her name gently.

Apparently, he had spoken too softly, as her attention seemed to be focused elsewhere now. She gazed up at the side of a building, where an intricate mosaic was plastered on the side. She stared at it, almost in a hypnotic trance, with a look of longing on her face.

"I don't know why, but I've always felt a strong connection to him..." she commented.

Shou followed her gaze, then turned back to her.

"Well, that explains our passwords." he said with a laugh, then reassured her. "Don't lose hope, Athena. He'll come back. One day... he'll come back. And then we won't have to put up with the suffering and lies Haysheen puts us through. We might have to wait until next year or next month. It could be as soon as next week... or even tomorrow! You never know. But I do know this: One day, he _will _come back."

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l**

Despite the serenity surrounding the young man and lady at the fountain, not all was peaceful that night. One man came trudging through an alleyway, dirty and scratched up, having spent the entire day traveling on foot or by horse, and traveling alone.

Marthis staggered down the alleyway with a groan. He reached up and tenderly grazed his sensitive jaw, flinching despite the delicate contact. The skin around his mouth and cross-shaped scar was now purple with hints of black, blue, and yellow. Blood was caked underneath his nose and on his lips and chin.

_I swear... I'll find that brutish bastard and give him tenfold of what he did to me! He can have bloody marks to match those strange tattoos of his..._

Marthis glared at his dusty hands. He clenched them into fists in contempt.

_My mask... destroyed... damn them all! Kaiba... Tattoo-Face... as if I didn't have enough trouble with the rebels before!_

A rustle around the corner caught the advisor's attention. He quickly ducked into a shadowy corridor of the alley and peered out. A dark form made its way down the alley, heading in his direction. A spirit? No, Marthis decided as he heard a small splash. It was someone's foot that hit a puddle, he deduced. It was a human, and most likely a rebel. Marthis poised himself in the dark corridor, then pounced.

Marthis tackled the shadow against the alley wall. It grunted, finding itself pinned between the brick barrier and the Imperial Advisor. The shadow squirmed uncomfortably in his grasp. Finally having success that day made a grin pass over his bruised lips.

"Well! What do we have here?" Marthis asked, putting on a fake tone of marvel. He grabbed the hood of the figure and yanked it over the head of the shadowed figure. "Why, if it isn't the rebel girl who escapes me so often!"

"Marthis!" Athena gasped, recognizing his voice. Trying to hide her fear, she smirked and taunted in reply, "No wonder you always wear a mask."

Marthis sneered and shoved her harder into the wall, earning a startled grunt from the girl.

"What did you steal this time, wench? Food? Gold? Clothing?" he interrogated.

Athena glared back at him.

"Does it look like I have anything on me?" she asked in reply.

"_On_ you, no. Underneath that cloak of yours... _that_ still has to be determined," Marthis stated, gripping the dark cloak on her shoulders.

Athena panicked and tried to run. However, Marthis's grip was strong, and it only resulted in part of her cloak being ripped off one of her arms. She stumbled in surprise, giving Marthis a chance to catch her again, this time from behind.

"Let - me - go!" Athena ordered, struggling in the man's grasp.

"Of course, of course... _after _an investigation..." Marthis responded, pulling her closer to him for better control.

In that one moment, something changed within the Imperial Advisor.

His mind shifted focus from delivering a treacherous rebel... to the sensation of having that smaller, feminine body pressed so closely against his. He could feel her hair pressed against his cheek - somewhat oily, yet soft - and something about her natural scent was digging into his deepest, darkest, and most hidden instincts. The only female contact Marthis had ever had was when he killed a female rebel or dragged a female's corpse onto a wagon for later disposal or burial... even if it was against her consent, he had never held a woman in his arms before. He shifted a hand to brush against the skin of her bare arm - there were some spots that were rough and dirty, but the clean areas of her skin were smooth to the touch.

Total fear swept over Athena as she felt Marthis's warm breath against the back of her neck.

"_Stop it!_" Athena shrieked, yanking her left arm out of the man's grasp. She swung it backwards, striking Marthis squarely in the jaw.

The advisor reeled backwards in pain with a yelp, clutching the side of his face as fresh blood started to leak from his wounds. He had broken out of his trance, and was now distracted by pain. Athena ran out of the alleyway as fast as she could, dodging down odd passageways, hoping that Marthis would not track her down.

The advisor glanced up, noticing that the girl was gone. He spat out some of the blood in his mouth in contempt, and started to trudge down the alleyway, when his foot brushed against something. Marthis glanced down and picked it up from the ground. He held it at eye level and realized it was the part of her cloak he had ripped off.

He glanced back up in the direction the rebel girl had run off in, then back down at the shred of fabric in his hand. Marthis stuffed the black cloth into his pocket, then walked off in the opposite direction to the emperor's palace.

**-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

Athena spotted the small house she had been looking for and picked up speed. Whether or not the occupants were sleeping, she didn't care. She just wanted to get out of the open streets. She felt exposed, as if she had been running naked through the city of Sygh-Varths. She gripped the door handle powerfully and jerked the door open, then slammed it shut behind her. She leaned against the door, panting, still recovering from the events that had happened only a few minutes ago.

A small light made its way from the room further ahead down the hallway. The light drew closer until Athena realized it was a candle being carried by someone.

There were actually two of them; the girl who carried the candle had brown hair like Athena, only much shorter and wavier, and had green eyes. The other girl stood a slight distance behind the candle-carrier... she had attractive features, with long blonde hair and beautiful green eyes.

"Athena?" asked the blonde with a yawn. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "I just need to be alone..."

She turned to her right, where a few candlesticks rested in a convenient holder. She took one and dipped the wick against the flame of the first candle, then walked swiftly towards their bathing room. The blonde took a few steps after her, but the brunette stopped her.

"But, Penelope..."

Penelope shook her head.

"Just leave her be. You know Athena... the best thing for her is to be alone."

Athena opened the door to the bathing room, placing the candlestick into the holder on the wall. The room was very simple - no furniture, no plumbing, no windows - there was only a chamberpot in a corner of the room, a basin that held water (often cold water), and a floor that curved downward in a small slope to the center of the room, where there was a small hole that acted as a drain.

She removed her now ruined cloak, the dress underneath, and her makeshift undergarments. That moment with Marthis had left her feeling disgustingly dirty. She stepped over to the basin and removed the small wash-cloth inside. She washed her hair, her face, her torso, her legs, and then her hands and feet. Athena dipped the wash-cloth back into the water, then placed it against her shoulder to bathe.

No good.

That one simple touch reminded her too much of _him. _Tears fell from Athena's eyes, and when she caught her breath, it was in a heaving sob. She sat there, sobbing for a few minutes, then glanced back at the wash-cloth still held in her hand. She squeezed it angrily, then started scrubbing madly at her arms. It felt like he had left imprints, stains upon her skin... and she had to wash them off. Marthis's mocking laugh still rang in her ears, and she continued trying to wash away his memory.

"Athena?" asked a small voice in the doorway. The blonde girl gasped at the sight of her sister frantically scrubbing her arm. "Athena, what are you doing? Stop! You'll rub your skin raw!"

She dashed over and stopped her sister from scrubbing any more. She sighed in relief when she noticed that Athena's skin was intact... and also very clean.

"Sister..." she whispered, going to get a towel. She draped it around Athena's shoulders. "Athena... what happened?"

"He touched me..." Athena whimpered.

"Who? Shou?" the blonde gasped.

"No, Venus. It was Marthis."

"What?" she gasped. "But... I thought he was away on military duty!"

"Must've come back early," Athena figured, sniffling as she wiped her nose.

Venus placed an arm around her older sister's shoulders.

"Well, you're safe now. You're home, where Marthis can't hurt you."

Athena stood up, and walked over to where she left her clothes. Venus turned to face the corner of the room, allowing her sister privacy as she redressed. After she was completely clothed again, Athena shook her head with a smile, her eyes still red.

"I'm your older sister... I should be the one to comfort you."

"You might be the oldest," Penelope stated, now standing in the doorway. "But as sisters, we still have to be there for each other, regardless of age."

She took a few steps forward and embraced Athena. Venus walked over behind her oldest sister and hugged her too.

"You've worked really hard tonight," Penelope commented, gently releasing her sister. "You ought to get some sleep."

Venus nodded.

"I think we _all _should be in bed," the blonde remarked.

Athena wiped her eyes again, smiling a little brighter.

"It'll be morning in a few hours... I might as well get as much sleep as I can..."

As she stepped into the bedroom she shared with her sisters and crawled into her bed, she remembered what Kenshouji - what Shou - had said to her.

_Don't lose hope, Athena. He'll come back. One day... he'll come back._

Shou didn't have to worry, she promised herself. No matter what Marthis did to her, he could never take away her hope.

_We might have to wait until next year or next month. It could be as soon as next week... or even tomorrow! You never know. But I do know this: One day, he __will __come back._

She smiled and pulled the blankets over her shoulders.

_It could be tomorrow, you never know... _Athena thought to herself, closing her eyes and settling into slumber.

**a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-**

**This chapter is unique in that it introduces several OCs I created for the story. **

**In other words, **_**this chapter does not happen in the game**_**. **_**None of these scenes occur in "The Falsebound Kingdom" as a video game, in any of the storylines.**_

**Kenshouji (pardon me, "Shou"), Athena, Penelope, and Venus are all my own characters.**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated and greatly encouraged.**


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